Baltimore | Tuesday Night

[knife_bender]

Since everyone's powers had been restored (not that Diego lost his), it seemed that a trip to Baltimore was called for to make sure everything was in working order. It also had the added benefit of seeing Annie in her Starlight outfit which was something Diego was never going to complain about. They didn't even have to stick to the shadows since the city seemed to have collectively agreed that this whole week was Halloween and they were actually some of the more normal looking people around.

"There's an awful lot of drunk people around for a Tuesday night." It was the Halloween spirit, Diego!

[For the aforementioned shiny superhero]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Could you throw something a lot heavier than a knife?" Starlight wondered. "Like, have you ever thrown a person?"

Look, if they were going to be superheroing together - on nights when crimes actually occurred - this would be useful to know.

[knife_bender]

"I think you have a better chance at throwing someone than me." Though it might be possible in the future once he started hanging out with his siblings again.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I don't know, you lifted me fine, and that was a pretty fair fight," she pointed out, though he was also not wrong at all that she was really good at throwing people. "I'm just spitballing. Your powers are so useful."

[knife_bender]

"Now you're just flattering me," he joked. "I like your powers. They suit you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"What, the spooky eyes and light-up hands?" she asked lightly. "Thanks. The rest of it - the strength and the skin and all that - is just part of having powers where I'm from. I'm not even really that strong for a Supe."

[knife_bender]

"I don't think they're spooky" Diego said, chuckling. "I didn't realize you all had super strength. Luther was the only one of us who was born being able to take a hit, the rest of us had to be trained to do it."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Taking a beating is a skill," Starlight noted, remembering what he'd said last week. "Though holy shit, was that training you did when you were a kid, too?"

She was also just quietly filing away the fact that he didn't think her eyes were weird, since - well. Her strength wasn't exactly the only thing that scared guys off, if she didn't watch it.

[knife_bender]

"...yeah." That didn't sound great, did it? "It wasn't so bad. I at least use that skill still."

Now he just made it sound worse. But he considered himself lucky that he wasn't locked in mausoleum like Klaus was for his "training".

[defenderofdesmoines]

"A lock on the bad parent hall of fame," Starlight repeated, sighing. "I know I don't have to tell you that's child abuse. So is letting a little boy play with knives. 'Cause, like, I'm assuming he didn't let you practice with something less lethal?"

Cotton balls, maybe? Beanbags?

[knife_bender]

"You assume correctly," he said. "Man you are going to be really shocked when you find out how old we were when he made us get matching tattoos."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," she said, looking at him curiously. "And it better at least be a number ending in 'teen.'"

[knife_bender]

"Thirteen, whew. Just made it," he said, putting a hand on his chest. "It's nothing interesting; just an umbrella on my forearm."

And it was the only tattoo he would ever have considering his completely justified fear of needles.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Because of your team name," she remembered. "Right? And I was kind of joking, but that's still child abuse. Thirteen. No wonder you don't talk to your dad."

She kind of wanted to beat the guy senseless, and she'd never met him.

[knife_bender]

Sir Reginald had that effect on people.

"It was pretty screwed up," he agreed. "But, hey, I managed okay. I'm out here with you, aren't I?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

Okay, Starlight was starting to think his secondary superpower was maybe downplaying horrible things, because he was great at it. Don't think she hadn't noticed.

"That you are. Got any other, less traumatic tattoos?" she wondered lightly, because that was a lot more fun - and normal - to talk about.

[knife_bender]

"Just the one." Seriously, you get a needle near him he will pass out immediately. "What about you?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm secretly covered in ink from shoulder to hip," Starlight told him, utterly deadpan. "I've got some really great sleeves under here."

Considering he'd seen her bare forearm a couple weeks ago (when she had shown him how difficult it was to pierce her with anything), it'd be fair to assume she was teasing, yes.

[knife_bender]

"I didn't want to assume," he said, laughing. "You didn't seem like the type but I thought I'd ask."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"No, I don't have any - my mother would kill me. Actually kill me. I have no idea how, 'cause she's normal, but she'd figure it out," Starlight told him, snorting out a little laugh. "Like - this?" She pointed to her ear, which sported three standard piercings and one in the cartilage, "was an unending battle. Plus it's expensive. Super-needles, and all."

[knife_bender]

If Diego gave himself the chance to think about super needles he would probably get nauseous. So he was just going to pretend he never heard the phrase. Nope. Didn't exist.

"You won the battle at least," he said. "And fights against your parents are some of the harder ones to win."

[defenderofdesmoines]

And now she felt a little like an asshole for bitching about her mom, since while her mom was her mom, she was still leagues better than his dad.

"It's easy when you're only fighting against one of them," she said with a little smile. "I'm glad you had your mom. Do you still talk to her, at least?"

She didn't know how it worked with androids. Did you like, call them on the phone? Was that normal?

[knife_bender]

"Not often." The last time had been when he got his job at the Trooper Station and he wanted a parental figure to be proud of him for once.

"What happened to your dad--if you don't mind me asking?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I don't mind," she assured him. "He split when I was ten. I haven't seen or heard from him in, like, thirteen years, almost."

And she had suspicions as to why he had left, even if her mom had always blamed the vague culprit of 'bad investments.'

[knife_bender]

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "Man between the two of us we cover a lot of the bad parenting handbook."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I just try to learn from their bad examples," she replied softly, though she privately thought his dad probably had, like, his own chapter in the bad parenting handbook. Maybe multiple appendices. "You know, I would just like to point out that this whole time we've been talking? No apparent bank robberies."