Party Down

[legionnpcs]

Who| Everyone!
What| A party
Where| In the Sim Rooms
When| After "Whistling in the Dark"
Warnings/Notes| N/A

Avoiding the destruction of Legion World was more than enough reason to throw a party, especially since its destruction could've meant the Lunar Debris Field might have fallen out of its orbit onto Earth. After Legion World's repairs were underway and the ship was mostly safe again, the old-timer Legionnaires decided to throw a little party in celebration of the newbies getting through their first trial by fire.

Even though duty might call them away, they all figured on being able to spend at least a little time hanging out with the rookies.

One of the Sim Rooms proved itself to be the best place to have a party, since the inside could be made as big as they needed it to be. In one section they had a massive setup for laser tag, and in another area there were games and food and couches in a massive square.

Times like these weren't going to be easy to come by, if the kind of crisis the Lux had caused was any indication, so it was time to enjoy their free time while they had it.

Comments

Laser Tag

[legionnpcs]

In one area there is a massive obstacle area setup for laser tag, set against the backdrop of a swirling, multicolored galaxy. The many labyrinthian walkways even went upside down in places, so that people could wind up attacking each other from every angle.

The Sim Room even gave them all boots that let them jump crazy heights, so that they could sometimes even jump from one surface up to a ceiling, where artificial gravity would pull them to it as if it was a floor.

Due to the safety protocols, anyone accidentally jumping into a hard surface would find it soft, as if they were slamming into pillows.

[nerdninja]

Ceilings?

Are an excellent place for a ninja.

Donnie preferred that most annoying of play styles - lurking, stalking, and occasionally popping out to blow someone down with fake guns blazing before melting right back into hiding. Every shot was deliberate.

That one he just took at you included.

Pictionary

[legionnpcs]

Yes, the future still has pictionary -- or at least a game like it. Instead of drawing on a piece of paper or dry erase board, they can draw on a holographic display with a little stylus.

Good luck playing it when everyone has entirely different frames of reference.

[enthraller]

Saralegui was actually a rather good artist. Drawing and painting were, after all, perfectly acceptable hobbies for nobility.

But everything about this game was foreign to him, from the imposed time limits to the screens and styluses they were supposed to draw with. For all that it mimicked actual drawing, the slide of the stylus over the screen was completely unlike that of charcoal on paper, and the fact that it was being timed meant he couldn't even take the time he normally would to make things look decent.

What he produced wasn't too horrible, all things considered. Certainly recognizable enough for the purposes of the game -- in his opinion, anyway.

[failbender]

"A bee bear?" Zuko suggested.

He was sitting on one of the couches, leaning his arm on the arm-rest and resting his head on his hand, trying to look the picture of disinterest. (Why were they all wasting time playing silly board games?)

Except he kiiind of liked that he was able to participate in something fun, especially without gloom and doom hanging over his head. Also he was slightly excited that the animal looked like a mix of two animal parts, as all animals should be (screw you, Grif).

[ooc: Saralegui again and if Zuko gets it wrong, someone else gets to guess!]

[enthraller]

"Are you serious?"

The look Saralegui pinned Zuko with was as flatly incredulous as a look could be. Because clearly Zuko understood what it was supposed to be, but for some reason wouldn't just say it right. What the hell, come on.

[ringslinging]

"Is that a...god, what were those stupid things called. Teletubby?"

Saralegui might just wish Zuko would get it wrong again instead.

[ringslinging]

On some level, Hal figured he couldn't be that bad at Pictionary. Sure, he was no Kyle Rayner, but creating the weapons and tools they needed to resolve a situation out of nothing was only the bread and butter of how the Green Lanterns fought. And Hal was all about sticking to the efficient, tried-and-true kind of constructs, but still - he was used to making things appear on a whim. He had this.

He thought he had this.

But the none of the lines he drew came out half as smooth as the ones he had in his mind, and the end result wasn't much like what he was trying for, and...ugh.

"We sure we can't play this with powers?"

[enthraller]

"It's...a house?" Saralegui guessed, leaning over to peer at the screen with a bemused little frown. "A very lopsided house."

He was really trying to keep up that pleasant and likable image, but you people make it so hard sometimes. He wasn't even trying to be mean or anything, but what the hell, Hal.

[ringslinging]

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad."

Despite the fact that he was pushing forty years old, Hal was still capable of doing a perfectly good imitation of a childish pout. (Maybe such a good imitation one might think it wasn't.)

"Also not a house."

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief had never played Pictionary, or even heard of it before, but he caught on to the rules pretty quickly. Before he knew it, he'd successfully been encouraged to join in and was scribbling away trying to get the most out of the timer.

He wasn't sure he'd quite gotten the silhouette right from memory, but it should have been perfectly recognizable, right?

[wherenoonegoes]

"Some sort of dragon, maybe?" Hiccup had seen the ships since coming here, he knew they could fly in space, but the one Chief had drawn looked much more organic than anything he'd come across so far.

Re: Pictionary

[wherenoonegoes]

Hiccup was good at art. Good enough that, even with the time limit, Hiccup was able to get a fairly accurate rendition of what he wanted.

Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as good at guessing what concepts hadn't made it to the space-future he was now in.

[ringslinging]

"...a mother box?"

It definitely wasn't a cardboard box, a boom box, or B'ox, anyway.

[wherenoonegoes]

"I have no idea what that even is, so no." Hiccup replied, bewildered.

Meet the Legionnaires

[legionnpcs]

This is one of those rare times that no one's on a mission. Maybe saving Legion World -- and by extension Earth -- built up enough good karma that nothing will go wrong for a little while.

In any case, all of the older Legionnaires are hanging out in one place for once, partaking of the awesome food (some of which is colored with very bright and unusual colors.)

That means that the rookies have a chance to talk to them freely for once, without them having to run off on some mission.

[ooc: Now's a chance for any PCs to talk to the npc Legionnaires. Just put the name of the one you want your character to speak to in the subject of your comment. Please only choose one to keep the npc threads manageable.]

ferro!

[ringslinging]

Hal wasn't exactly seeking out a conversation so much as he was seeking out an empty seat, and the done thing in social situations was usually to engage whoever you wound up next to. (He usually preferred the kinds of parties where that whoever had at least even odds of being attractive, female, and legal, but you couldn't win them all.)

So he didn't look too hard when he sat down, drink in hand, and put his feet up on the glowing green ottoman that conveniently appeared in front of his chair.

"Reminds me of the Watchtower on Bring Your Sidekick to Work Day." There wasn't anything mean in his tone - he'd seen enough in his career to know that age didn't really have any bearing on making a good superhero.

But man, did this room make him feel old.

[legionnpcs]

"Mmm, we're not really sidekicks," said Ferro, eyeing the man carefully. "There aren't any older heroes, there's just us. Most of us have been doing this since we were fourteen or fifteen."

The mask on his face made it difficult for people to pick up on his expressions and that was something that might never change. If he never figured out a way to turn back to flesh and blood, he'd never be able to take the mask off again.

But if Hal could've seen his face, he would've seen an odd mix of emotions there. Pensiveness was definitely one of them -- after all, Ferro had been there during everything with the Sun Eater and he knew Hal's history as well as the other heroes of their era. In fact, after Brainy, Gates, and him had told Jazmin about everything they knew, she had made it clear Mr. Jordan was someone that had to be very careful about staying on the straight and narrow.

But if Ferro had been capable of taking his mask off, Hal might've seen gratitude, too. Ferro wondered if he even recognized him. Probably not. There were lots of heroes back in the 21st century that he'd left behind.

And he was used to being forgotten or considered unimportant. That was why he'd even left his own time to come with the Legion -- they cared about him and treated him like he was a great hero, like he mattered.

"It's not like the 21st century. With the Titans, and sidekicks like Superboy and Impulse and Robin." A pause. "That's the time I'm from, too. The Legion brought me to the future to live with them after I helped them when they were trapped in the past."

He gestured towards the others.

"In this time, there were almost no superheroes before the Legion. And we all do the kinds of things that Superman and Wonder Woman and all the rest do all the time. We have to. We're the only ones that can."

[ringslinging]

"Maybe I've just been doing this for long enough to forget that most of us start young," he admitted, passing his drink from one hand to the other. He'd been pretty young and stupid back in the day, but superheroes perhaps more than anyone found themselves measuring their careers in what felt like lifetimes, not years. (Given that some of the lifetimes were unsettlingly literal.)

Still, fourteen...

"Feels like the more time marches on, the younger everyone's starting, though." He'd still been a few years into adulthood when he started. Trying to imagine himself handling the responsibilities of a Green Lantern at age fourteen, frankly, wasn't something he wanted to think too hard about. "How long has the Legion been around?"

Somewhere in the middle of that thought, he finally turned to look at Ferro.

And stopped, a flicker of uncertain familiarity in his gaze. He couldn't place it, but he was sure he had seen this kid before - and as logical as it would be to assume that he'd just passed him somewhere since arriving, he was sure that wasn't it.

Kid Quantum

[iamresponding]

Rich tried to do laser tag. Oh, did he try. But it was probably a bad idea when he was still healing up a bit from his broken ribs (31st century tech only went so far and they were no longer broken but still sore).

It also was probably a bad idea when he was so clumsy. Because he really, really was clumsy.

After getting tagged like fifty times and quite literally falling out of the section where everyone was playing laser tag, he lay on the floor, laughing, as his gun disappeared.

"Okay, I think that's a sign that I'm flagged."

As if tripping over his own feet wasn't. Ugh. He really was going to have to double down on that physical therapy the medicos kept pressuring him to do.

Re: Kid Quantum

[relativityspeaking]

Kid Quantum (who had absolutely been responsible for some of the shots Rich had taken) followed him out of the play area, abandoning her gun in favor of offering a hand up.

"That can't be good on those ribs," she said with a flicker of a smile. "For the record, Legion Leader duties to not include standing between you and Dr. Gym'll when he comes for your head."

[iamresponding]

"It isn't good on anything. For the first time in my life I think I actually feel as old as I...well. Feel."

He took her hand and climbed to his feet with an "oof," and held a hand to his ribs.

"Think I'm gonna grab a beer and live vicariously through everyone else by watching them have fun."

brainyyyyy

[enthraller]

It was hard to miss Brainiac even amidst all the festivities, him being rather aggressively green and all. Unfortunately for him, Saralegui dropped into the seat beside him on the couch by all the food with an air of faint amusement.

"You actually came to a social event," he observed dryly, the corner of his mouth quirking up just slightly. "There may be hope for you yet."

[googledox]

Ah, as usual his foray into social festivities was accompanied by people who felt the overwhelming urge to comment on how infrequently he forayed into social festivities.

Typical.

(Why did they always seem to find commentary on that remotely insightful?)

Brainy took a long sip from his bright blue drink and simply stared Saralegui down for a moment.

"Yes. At Kid Quantum's...strong urging, I opted to pause a large number of projects vital to the survival and well-being of ourselves and others to sip brightly-colored beverages and pretend to enjoy the conversation of others."

He crossed one leg over the other primly and looked out at the rest of the party.

"I'm extremely heartened by the fact that my presence here has given you hope for the future of my social life. To think that you might of have had none. Perish the thought."

Metron's chair, he hated parties. Especially with people he didn't know that well. That was the whole reason Kid Quantum wanted him there -- to get to know people, but that was never the way he formed social bonds. Usually they grew fond of him via repeated proximity.

He didn't know any other way to bond with people besides growing on them like a fungus.

[enthraller]

While Brainy was busy snarking, Saralegui took a moment to look over the array of strange and admittedly brightly-colored drinks available. An uncertain look crossed his face only briefly before he swallowed that uncertainty down and snagged something purple. Never let it be said that he isn't open to trying new things.

"What kind of projects?" he asked, graciously ignoring all the sass that had accompanied that bit of information. He sat back with his drink, crossing his legs in a mirror of Brainiac's and peering at the green boy curiously.

(If there was one thing Saralegui was good at, it was people. And if there's anything that gets people talking, it's things they're personally invested in.)