A General's Chicken. (Open)

[Red Wizard]

Sterling was in a bit of a tight spot. He had just barely had enough money today to get his street clothes cleaned and something to eat. So he figured why not blow it on his favorite food? So he was sitting in the food court, eating a small portion of General Tso's Chicken from the little Chinese place. In his Red Wizard outfit. He would be returning to the laundromat shortly to retrieve his street clothes, but this was all he had to wear at the moment. So he sat, eating in a fashion that gave an impression of a rich kid slumming it up. Which made him feel awkward and self conscious.



This whole problem had sprung from Fimbulvetr, which regarded him with a coldly scripted "Deal with it" every time he opened it up these days. His parents expected him to be famous, as either an entrepreneur or a super hero by this point, and the few times he had tried to call his mother, he had gotten his father. Who then told him how much of a disappointment to the family name he was. He sighed into his chicken, sipping the small sized soda that had come with it, and plugged his earbuds into his ears. An MP3 player full of Dragonforce and Korn had been given to him by a cop who had found it on the bus and thought of him. The cops in town seemed to like him well enough, considering most of what he did was go after bail jumpers. He listened to it at a reasonable volume so he could hear what was going on around him.

Then he realized he was sitting smack in the middle of a cosplay meet. A Homestuck cosplay meet, not that he knew what Homestuck was. Several people were staring at him, because he didn't quite fit into the crowd of gray painted overpriviledged children. So he finished his chicken while ignoring them, and his stomach growled as he tossed the small cardboard carton into the trash. He walked off, murmurs about crashing the meet whispered into being behind him, and one dressed in a tank top with a zodiac symbol he didn't recognize stepped in front of him as he left.

"Listen, didn't mean to crash the meet, I just-"

He was then told he made a really great red mage, and he should come to next week's Final Fantasy meet.

"Thanks, man. I gotta run. Buuut this isn't really a costume."

Sterling smirked as the young man voiced his confusion, and then spoke the words.

"Teo Animus!"

The wind bore him into the air, and the homestuckers looked a bit weirded out, but otherwise none the worse for wear. This kind of stuff was normal in this city, after all. Sterling flew about twenty feet, slowly, seeing as the wind wasn't very strong inside the mall. He then landed and went about his buisiness, maybe head to the arcade? He had a few quarters left. Maybe apply for a job at one of the clothing stores or something, he could really use some steady income.

[Gaunt]

Kaie was running a little late. She'd just gotten done with her patrol for the day, and had to rush to get to the meet. It took a few minutes for her to change from one costume to another. Vincent had really come through for her on this. It was hard to find cosplay materials in her size, but he'd just been able to magic them up for her. Grey pants, black shirt with olive green Leo symbol, green trenchcoat, black wig, blue cat stuff, yellow contacts, and grey facepaint. She bent down, looking in the mirror. It was perfect, or as close as she could get.

She arrived at the mall just in time to see a Red Wizard flying over the crowd. This was certainly new. She steered away from the cosplay group, going to investigate. She looked a little odd, a twelve foot two (just measured and still growing!) rendition of Nepeta Leijon. She was definitely turning heads, more than usual even. A giantess walking around town was odd enough, but a giant cosplayer was going to get some serious attention.

Kaie strolled over to the red wizard, waving. She was meeting so many supers in this town! Back in Dublin, she had never seen more than one or two in a year. Jump City was a real hub for powered folks, and she'd never felt more at home. "Hey there! Ne'er seen ye before, ye new in town?" She smiled down at him, happy to see a new face.

[Red Wizard]

Sterling popped out his earbuds, deciding to conserve the AA battery, not knowing when he would be able to get another one. Then a giant...cat...alien...girl...thing? Whatever she was dressed as, a giant walked up and said hi. It wasn't the giant thing that confused him, however. His uncle Ted was about ten feet tall. Some kind of half-ogre. It was the outfit. She looked like an alien had reproduced with a catgirl and the current costume had been spit out. It was the gray bodypaint that really threw him off, but his demeanor brightened and he gave a toothy smile.

"Nice to meet you. I've been in town a year, actually....just..ah...haven't done much."

Currently homeless, hadn't so much as stopped a bank robbery. Not much about Sterling was super, at the moment. He felt like a massive failure, thanks to his parents "Understanding" of the situation. Maybe, with the proper resources, he could reinforce his costume with kevlar or something, but until then he really didn't want to tangle with guns. His problem was that he wasn't good at taking risks, currently. He heard thunder crash outside, and was suddenly very happy to have a hat. You could never predict summer rains.


"My name is...uhhh..."

He muttered "Sterling Mortlock" so quietly she probably didn't hear it.

"But people call me Red."

He smiled again, and cursed his father mentally for giving him such a stupid name.

He doffed his hat and gave a small bow with a flourish of his left arm. He was really getting into character. Maybe he WOULD stop a bank robbery or something later in the day! That'd be cool. For some reason he was feeling up at the moment instead of feeling sorry for himself. Placing his hat back on top of his silvery white man, he smiled again. Then again, with so many heroes in town...it'd be hard to distinguish yourself from the masses. He knew catching and intimidating bail hoppers with fire wouldn't do much to catch the attention of any groups who were recruiting or anything, but it paid. Kind of.

"So I notice I've walked into the middle of a cosplay meet, but I don't recognize the characters...is this that Homestuck thing I've been hearing about?"

[Gaunt]

He seemed more confused than alarmed by her appearance. That was a nice surprise, at least. Maybe her fellow supers were more used to folks like her, but giant cosplayers were new to just about everyone. She had never heard of any other full-time giants, and Kaie had never been able to get a costume together before, so it was entirely possible that this was an all-time first.

"Well, we all gotta start somewhere, right? I mean, no too long ago I weren't supering at all." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Of course, fanged giants don't necessarily look too comforting when they smile, but she was trying. "I just hit a lucky break with the Titans a few weeks ago." She'd been bragging a lot about her first super fight lately. Maybe a bit too much, but most people would brag if they fought Cinderblock and got away unscathed.

"Yer name's what now?" He had muttered his real name for some reason, and she hadn't caught it. Maybe it was something embarrassing like Beauregard or Sterling. "Red, huh? That's pretty cool. I'm Kaie Leary, or Rumble with the Titans." She was about to give her customary greeting when he gave a fancy bow, much to her delight. She smiled widely, waiting for him to finish before kneeling down to offer a finger shake. "Nice to meet ya!"

She nodded, going into "LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOMESTUCK" mode. It wasn't every day you had someone ask about it, but maybe costumed giants brought out the curiosity in people. "Yeah, this is Homestuck all right. It's Nepeta, the troll for my zodiac sign." She was going to explain more, but realized how much confusing backstory there was. No one can be told what the Homestuck is, you have to see it for yourself. She would leave it at that unless he asked for more.

[Red Wizard]

"Hmmm...I've been wanting to check out Homestuck, but I lack a computer for the time being."

A polite way to say he'd been staying under the overpass. Why tell her this, though? They had just met and he wanted to make a good impression.

"As far as super hero-ing goes, I've only really been catching bail jumpers. But I think I saw you on the news....you fought Cinderblock, right? The Titans are pretty awesome."


Not a good time to mention he was hoping to one day catch the Titan's attention. Not now, however. He didn't feel he was...how to say this...good enough. He could barely control his magic, and while he was quite good with the rapier hanging on his belt, he would be more of a liability than an asset. Unless he could learn to control his magic, he didn't want to get anywhere near a team for fear of blowing them up by accident. Though this (Rather attractive for her size, that was kind of an uncomfortable feeling) young lady looked like she could handle it. He shook her hand...finger...and tried to sound nonchalant. Quite frankly, Sterling was a little short. How he could find such a large girl attractive was beyond him. But he put that aside for the moment and focused on the conversation at hand. She probably had a boyfriend already anyway. Superheroes tended to have significant others already if they weren't Sterling.

And thus more self esteem issues come to light. 

Techno music started blaring in the food court, and several of the Homestuckers started dancing. Or was it Dubstep? No, worse. It was Carmeldansen.

And then there was dancing.


"Well, I'd rather not distract you from your friends any longer. The cosplay meet is in full swing, after all."

[Gaunt]

"It's pretty good once ye get one. It starts off slow, but then it gets really great. Confusing, but great." She was trying not to gush too much. Kaie didn't want to seem like too much of a geek. Okay, in full cosplay that might not be possible, but she was trying to keep it under control.

So he was a hero too, and already active on the super scene. Just minor bounty hunting, but it was a start. "Yeah, they're a good bunch. Say, maybe you could join. That flying was pretty cool, ye have any other powers?" Kaie was starting to wonder if she was going overboard on the invites, this was the second super she'd recommended for the Titans. If she kept that up she could become the Titans' recruiter.

He seemed a little uneasy about something. Kaie was about to ask what was the matter when the music started. Kaie wanted to dance, but those sorts of movements could be dangerous with someone of her size and strength. A lot of performers could bring the house down, but Kaie was one of the few who might do it literally. "Well, I don' really know em yet. But yeah, here for the cosplay. See ya around, Red." Kaie straightened up, heading towards the other cosplayers. This was one of the nice things about malls, the ceilings were high enough for her to stand upright. Even at the Tower, most of the rooms were too low for her. She even had to crawl through the doors. But here, once she was inside she could walk freely.

[Red Wizard]

Him, join the Titans? His heart skipped a beat at the notion, but he knew he wasn't ready. He bade her farewell, and she walked over to the group of homestuckers, who instead of acting intimidated by her size, welcomed her with open arms and complimented her costume. Homestuckers, in this author's experience, are like that.

In any case, back to Sterling, and enough breaking the fourth wall. He was a bit bummed now. His stomach growled loudly as he looked back, seeing the homestucker group handing out candy and such.

I need a job....a day job, at least.


Sterling pulled his scarf up over his face, so nobody could see him frowning, and hoped nobody would hear his stomach growling.


"HANDS IN THE AIR MORTLOCK! Don't move, and I'll make it quick."


Well ,that suddenly made him stop thinking of hunger. He felt the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed against his back. He recognized the voice, but couldn't place the name. This guy had been there when he had brought in some dude named Smitty for skipping bail. The man was loud, sloppy, and his hand was shaking. Sterling could easily disarm him, if he saw an opportunity. A red belt in Karate ensured that.

"We're really gonna do this here?"

The man just laughed, and reached down to remove the sword from Sterling's belt while commenting on how he was gonna get a pretty penny for it. As soon as his hand touched Sterling's belt, he moved, reaching down and grabbing the man by the wrist, and flipping the man over his shoulder. No sooner did the man hit the ground than Sterling got hit over the head with a chair. He heard Smitty laughing. Apparently he had made bail again.


While Sterling was picking himself up off the ground, he heard the gunshot and expected pain....but Smitty had missed him by mere centimeters.

"Son of a....."



"Igna!"

Sterling didn't throw it, but he was angry and generated a fireball between his hands as he stood up. He shouted the first thing that came to his head, which was cheesy and somehow appropriate for scaring off street thugs.

"FLEE BEFORE THE MIGHT OF THE ANCIENT MORTLOCK MAGES!"

He threw it, and it detonated on the floor between them, where they shouted and tried to stamp out their bants, which were on fire, as Sterling faltered in his stands, and flapped his left arm around because it too was on fire. As soon as he put it out, he turned to see the two men running off...then turning around, drawing guns again, and stomping toward him. His vision started to cloud slightly, and his head ached. That chair had probably given him a concussion or something...or at least left him dizzy.

[Kenni]

There was a shuffle of food-court seating as a decently-toned young man in orange clothes and a blue bandanna rose quite suddenly, craning his neck to see over a group of grey-scale Caramelldansen dancers just in front of his view of the scuffle over yonder.

It didn't help much when the primary view-blocker had to be over 7 feet tall!

His red eyebrows quirked below the bandanna was his only reaction to the she-cosplayer's gigantic stature before turning his attention back to the boy she'd been conversing with a few moments ago.

Forsaking his strawberry Ten Ren's bubbletea, he grinned and tightened his leather sandal-straps and got ready to take his gear out for a practical.

The teen jumped onto the circular tabletop, crouched, then leapt from table to table, clutching a strangely designed hard-plastic ball under his arm. Some of the cosplayers had rolled their eyes upon the boy's entry into the food court, the very picture of the Besaid Aurochs' Captain Wakka in every stitch of his custom outfit (the making of which had been paid for generously by one Oliver Queen, though unbeknownst to the man).

Yes, Roy Harper had been growing his bangs out for two months, and working on his tan for two weeks to get ready for the Final Fantasy meet..which he'd been certain was today. After weeks and weeks of planning, weeks started to blend together, so what was one more to him?

However, mis-reading the meeting announcement sure had its benefits now, he thought, leaping from 'island to island', making a beeline for the action that was the 1st-generation FF Red Mage (unintentional) cosplayer being attacked. Because how much fun was it going to be to cream these guys with a different sort of long-range weapon, all the while masquerading in a different sort of costume than Harper usually ran about in?

"TEYK DEES!"
Roy's voice resounded, adopting Wakka's Besaid Island accent and jumping into the air after having alighted on the last closest table behind Sterling's opponents. He threw his arms over his head at the apex of the jump, smashing the blue and white Blitzball in his hands at the side of one baddie's head; in theory the ricochet effect would make short work of the second guy's noggin as well, but he kept his eye on them for counter-attacks just in case his aim was still better with a bow than a throw. The circular 'island' crashed into some couple's date, spraying chili-cheese fries into the guy's face and causing the girl to glare huffily at said face she had been about to kiss, then at Roy.

He winked at her.
She forgot why she'd been angry immediately, despite his ridiculous hairstyle.

Back to the Mage-r incident.

Mortlock had just been whaled on by a chair; he wanted to keep the kid talking as long as possible until the First Responders he's radioed in for by his hidden T.Comm. could get here to check for a concussion. It wouldn't help if he fell asleep. Roy's blue and yellow armguard rattled as he placed his palm on the groggy-looking guy's shoulder; the strap had come a bit loose.

"Love the threads, brudda. I just downloaded the first game on my cell, so I dunno much about them yet, but gosh. You make a killer Red Mage! Somethin' tells me the light show was more than special effects though, ya?"
Harper sensed the flying act from before plus the fire ball recently pegged Sterling as some kind of gifted human.

"Who am I?" he asked, partially to make sure the other boy could still logically answer questions, secondly because he was pretty proud of his costume handiwork.

Roy crouched once more, hoisted the Mage up by his shoulders to sit upright against the wall, then pointed to his outfit's "pièce de résistance;" his barely-3-inch-tall-frontcurl, as if trying to give Sterling a hint.

Forcing possible concussion victims to play guessing games: Harper certainly had Wakka's ill-timing and well-meaning personality down.

[Gaunt]

Kaie had barely had a moment to tend to her fellow cosplayers when there was one hell of a commotion. She turned, trying to figure out who was shouting. Some men were hassling Red! She couldn't figure why, he seemed like such a nice guy. Kaie took a step forward, starting to switch into Hero Mode(TM). The gunshot stopped her dead in her tracks. A look of horror spread over her face, followed by relief when she saw Red was unharmed. The ruffian had missed, but people were starting to run in panic. All but a few oblivious couples here and there were trying to get as far from the shooting as possible. It was a good instinct, but it was keeping Kaie from moving to help. Crowds were already tricky to navigate, but panicked crowds swarming around her legs left her all but paralyzed.

While Kaie tried to figure a way to rescue the dude in distress without trampling anyone, another cosplayer sprung into action. A Wakka darted across the food court, upsetting tables and delivering a devastating Blitzball strike to the assailants. Kaie didn't recognize him, but he must have been some sort of hero. No regular chump off the street could take down two guys with a volleyball.

The crowd cleared, and Kaie managed to make her way over to the others. The cosplay meet had been thoroughly ruined, but they'd managed a daring rescue. Kaie leaned down, holding out a hand for the other heroic cosplayer to high five. "Nice moves, Wakka!" She held her hand still, letting him go for it. She didn't want to risk breaking his wrist congratulating him after a cool display like that. It took the giant a moment to remember why she had been heading over there in the first place. "Say, Red, you okay?" He looked a little the worse for wear. Once the high five had been delivered (or rejected, as the case may be) she reached down to gather up the downed criminals. This totally blew, missing the meeting like this, but it was kind of cool to be busting criminals in full Nepeta gear. It felt right.

[Red Wizard]

Sterling blinked a few times. His head REALLY hurt, but it felt more like bruising than a concussion. 

"Nice Wakka costume, man. Uhh....sorry you had to get involved."

He reached up and touched the top of his head where the chair had hit. He wasn't bleeding, but there'd be a nasty knot where his hat sat. He winced as he touched it.

"Uhh...yeah. I'm a wizard....kind of. A really incompetent wizard who was trying, and failing, to be intimidating."

He let out a sigh. He was really, really angry at himself. He let a few street thugs get the better of him. Sterling felt pathetic as he leaned back against the wall, after letting the Wakka help him get there. He didn't recognize him as Speedy, which was probably going to prove embarrassing later on in his career as a super hero if he ever managed to make something of himself. Not likely, at this pace.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, Kaie."

He let out a sigh. This was just sad. His parents expected him to be some big damn hero. He supposed he should give the family greeting, they at least deserved that. He doffed his hat once more.

"Sterling Mortlock. If there's anything I can do to repay the two of you, let me know. Also, I know it's a silly name, just bear with me. I'm also sorry these jerks blew the meet..."

He couldn't repay either of them in a monetary fashion, but as he plopped his hat back on his head, he figured he could at least, y'know, give them pointers on how to find classic video games or something. It had been his fault all this happened, anyway. It he hadn't dragged this guy back off to jail, he wouldn't have come after him with a gun. But what idiot judge gave him bail AGAIN anyway?! In any case, his only real skill, fencing, was of no use against non-super criminals. They all had guns, the mundanes. What use was a sword against a gun?

[Kenni]

Roy Harper was nothing if not subtle, and wonderful under-cover.
...
When under-cover for a Titans job, that is.

If allowed to hide as himself, he let his honed heroic skill give him away.
But then, Harper had never been as careful as Grayson about keeping his identity under wraps.

Off-the-clock, colourful cosplay was a far-cry from tugging a cap over his face as a prison security guard, and his athletic display had trumped that of most of those guys. So it was with a feigned self-consciousness that he at first high-fived the tall grey girl from earlier.

"Alriiiight, a high-fi--oooone. Not..you, I mean. My hand only covers your...thumb, so. Ahah. Gee, you sure make 'tall, bright and friendly' a thing."

He cleared his throat, re-applying the Island accent. It wouldn't do him any good if this girl  oshheard and recognized him again as Speedy later, but he couldn't help it! She was a startling height, even moreso up-close-and-facing-you; at his food table she'd just been a faceless pillar as he faced her back.

"Thanks! We haven't met yet, but I've awready seen so many different sides of you, ya? Name's Roy Harper. You can call me Awesome. Or maybe I'll call you sometime." grinned Roy cryptically, knowing she wouldn't remember standing in front of him earlier.

"Sorry? Don't be; I'm not. That was a rush! Glad you're still with us, though. If anymat I'm sorry I didn't swoop in sooner. The fireworks were cool. You've got some moves, Wiz, but this time...my ball's saved the day."
Roy tried to keep his face straight after that one, lips quirking at the corners and daring to upturn at a moment's notice. He had turned his attention back to the ailing Sterling, even though the police and medical assistance personnel had arrived and were looking for who to thank and or interview for the bail hoppers' takedown.

This further picked at Harper's cover; most self-obsessed teenage boys would jump at the chance to claim credit for a rescue like this, and yet his frequent dealings with the authorities in archer-mode had numbed him to their presence. It wasn't until a First Responder started checking in on the sorry-looking Red Mage that he even noticed them and thought to continue saving his ruse of 'cocky civilian'.

"Right here, ladies, it was all me. Where d'ya want my autograph?" asked the talkative Titan, in case the police officer and her medical associates needed him to sign off on anything related to the case. They seemed more interested in talking to the Mage, whom they recognized as their area's resident bail-hopper-retriever. As the medical personnel fussed over Mortlock, the boy kept quiet, watching the lead officer's cronies drag two handcuffed, unconscious baddies to a waiting squad car outside.

"From the eyewitness reports, it sounds like you had a close call today, Mr. Mortlock. Powers or not, if you insist on going after criminals at your level of combat skill, and without the police, then I suggest you look into some permanent back-up..and some ice for that head. But I'll let the medical-types check me about your head."

The ginger cosplayer flutterfinger-waved as the lady finished her tirade, to which she only rolled her eyes.

"Personal scolding by the badge; you must be a regular. So anyway...you two know each other, too?" Harper wasted no time continuing their conversation after both the medical team and the police force moved out, order restored to the food court. He was soon wide-eyed and struggling not to laugh at Mortlock's fanciness, and some talk about wanting to repay him and grey chick for the concern.

"Again, forget about it, brudda. I messed up the date for our's (still thinking Sterling meant to dress this way), and I don't think the young lady here minded the brawling interrupting her meet; no doubt she could've taken both those losers out herself before they knew what hit 'em. I mean, look at the guns SHE'S totin'. " Roy finished, commenting genially on Kaie's build, then winked at Sterling.

"And hey, nomat wrong with the name 'Sterling'. Brings precious metals ta mind. You're cash, brudda."

[Gaunt]

Kaie laughed as Wakka returned her high one. He was a chatterbox when he wasn't kicking rump and taking names. She didn't understand half of what he was saying, but maybe it was just an American thing. She was still getting used to some of the talky stuff here. His voice sounded familiar, but Kaie couldn't quite place it. She would probably figure it out later.

SPOILER: Click to show

No she wouldn't.

Things were going well at this point. Sterling was fine, and their new friend Roy was a bit of a flirt. She didn't know what he meant by seeing all sides, but he seemed nice in a goofy way. The giant offered a finger to shake. "Maybe ye will. I'm Kaie, or Rumble if we wanna do super names." She was about 99% sure this guy was a hero of some kind, but she wasn't going to start a guessing game in public. If she got it right, it could put him in danger. She had to admire his wit, though. The giant snorted back a laugh at his comment about how he saved the day.

In stark contrast to Roy's confidence, Red seemed to be oddly self-deprecating for a guy who had just thrown a fireball. "I dunno Red, ya were a pretty awesome wizard back there. Fireballs are always badass." She gave him the biggest thumbs up he had ever seen. "Ye jus need a little practice!" She was pretty curious about what other spells he had, but now wasn't the time to ask. He had questions to answer and a hit head to recover from, she didn't want to interfere. "Don' worry bout the meet, we can always have another. I'm jus glad yer all right."

"We jus' met." she said to Wakka. It was tough keeping up with him once he started talking. Red seemed pretty bummed out about what the cops had said, maybe she could cheer him up. Kaie knelt down, patting him gently on the shoulder. "Maybe we can hero together sometime, ey Ster?"

Kaie laughed, flexing an arm when Wakka complimented her guns. The long, loose sleeves of the coat kind of ruined the effect. "Thanks Roy. An yeah, I coulda helped if there weren't the crowd here. Good thing you were here, I might notta gotten there in time."

[Red Wizard]

"Sounds like cash, eh? You don't know the half of it, though I suppose my family name isn't well known outside Gotham. And Hero-ing together sounds nice, Kaie."

Before he could say anything else, a Paramedic dragged him off bodily. Being slight of frame, he wasn't too hard to drag off. The paramedic looked him over, gave him the standard follow the flashlight test for a concussion, which he passed. No concussion, but a nasty bump. His hat would hide it, though. He got another lecture about being careful, and maybe seeing if he could join a team or something. And then the paramedic asked if he was single, because his daughter needed a date to some upscale midsummer prom, and he seemed like a nice enough kid.

He politely declined because that was awkward as hell.

The paramedic smirked, and told him it was okay. He wouldn't want to go with some random guy's daughter, either. The paramedic patted Sterling on the back and sent him on his way. He returned to the Wakka and Kaie, rubbing his head. He was gonna have trouble leaving the bump alone. He always had trouble leaving scrapes and bruises alone. It was a personality quirk of sorts.

"Sorry about that. That guy tried to hook my up with his daughter for some midsummer dance. Really awkward."

[Kenni]

"O-Kaie, Rumble is definately a 'super name'." he answered, playing dumb about the whole hero biz while shaking her finger amiably.

"So is...WhoeverYou'reSupposedToBeFromHomestuck a Scot, too? Or is your cool accent for real?" he asked Kaie, displaying his ignorance about any accents west of The East, and probably mixing up the feel of her Irish one for the Kaie that was Ink that was Scottish.
...because he's just learned that this girl was also in fact, named Kaie.

Next, he tried to steer the conversation away from himself some more since she was talking super names, just to be safe.

"It isn't gonna blast out like somat crazy off of Astro Boy or whatever if I shake, will it? But if you were a robot, that would explain your guns!"

Roy tugged his bandanna back up a bit. It had come a little loose when he'd been island-hopping. His next interests were regarding Sterling.

"See pal? If a solid wall-y here is willing to partner up with ya, you can't be all that shabby at the hero-ing thing. Look me up if you guys ever need a...distraction." he coaxed, portmanteauing 'wall' and 'ally' for kicks while simultaneously downplayign his ability to help in mroe serious criminal takedown manouevres.

Harper gawked at the boy's news upon freeing himself from the paramedic's trap.

"Whaaat!? You should've totally gone for it, guy! Told 'er all about your epic food-court battle. It always pays to make a cute girl laugh. She's prolly cute, anyway."

"What do YOU think? That guy's her dad. Is she cute?" Roy nudged Kaie in the arm, basically asking her to infer from what the man looked like if his child would follow suit and be at or above his level of attractiveness, whatever that might've been, then rounded up his compliments on her again.

"I mean, s'gotta take a looker to spot another looker, even through the generations. You're the perfect one to ask~. Right, Sterling?"
Roy wiggled his eyebrows at the other boy, but most of the effect was lost seeing as his headband was so wide over his brow. He then asked Sterling a different kind of question, genuinely interested by the boy's powers.

"Say, besides flaming balls of fury, what other spells you got churnin' around under that hat of Mage-ic tricks?"
Roy crossed his legs and leaned forward, hands clasping his ankles and face eager to hear all about
the boy's powers. Kaie would get her interview afterwards, but that mini-explosion was vivid in his short-term memory for now.

[Gaunt]

Kaie only had time to give a quick thumbs up about the teamup idea before Sterling was hauled off. She couldn't help laughing at the sight of the wizard being practically dragged away by the paramedics. Sterling's attire was already straddling the border between dashing and silly, but that knocked him far into silly territory.

She was a bit annoyed when Wakka mistook her accent for Scottish. That happened a lot in the states, and it was starting to get her goat. "It's Irish, actually. And no, Nepeta isn't Irish. She don' really have any accent written in." Before she had time to say anything else, Roy had launched into something about robots and Astroboy. Kaie was completely lost at this point.

Luckily, Sterling came to a heroic rescue. Once again, their wizard buddy brought the laughs. "Roy's right, ye shoulda said yes. Maybe it were meant to be." Almost immediately, Roy started bringing the confusion again. "Well I have'na seen her, have I?" She didn't really get the parental attractiveness connection. The followup didn't clarify too well either. "Wait, who's telling here?" Kaie wasn't quite sure who he was calling attractive, but this Roy was starting to make her head hurt.