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]

"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."

[knife_bender]

"You mean we could have been making out this entire time?" Diego joked. "What a waste."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Enormous waste." Not really, since she liked talking to him, but also there could have been more kissing. All that willpower for nothing. "Though I guess there being nothing for us to stop isn't a bad thing?"

Though it did mean they could probably safely go find somewhere to make out, which she thought was a better use of everyone's time, really.

[knife_bender]

"Definitely not a bad thing," he said with a smile. "You know I always liked patrolling but I really like it now."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Me too. Though, you know, we could totally do this without the patrolling part, sometime," she replied, just a little bit shyly. "We wouldn't have to worry about getting interrupted by a theoretical bank robbery, then."

Not necessarily. Just because she didn't have her cape didn't mean crime just obediently went on hold.

[knife_bender]

"Oh I definitely want to do this without the patrolling part," Diego assured her. "I like Annie just as much as I like Starlight."

[defenderofdesmoines]

The way to a superhero-with-identity-issues' heart? Saying cute things like that.

"You'd better," she said lightly, her smile turning a little softer in spite of her teasing tone. "Annie gets out a lot more."