When its time to party we will party hard

[Sacerdos]

"Would you like some introductions made?" asked Jack, succumbing to the temptations of the party. "I have a broad circle of friends," he told Thunderstanding warmly, automatically falling back on the flirtatious behavior that strongly suggested he'd be interested in adding to that circle that very night.

"Sure thing," replied Thunder. "Show me 'round the A-list crowd."

Before Jack could reply, she noticed Geckoman and Student Body belly up to the bar. "Nice costume!" she called to the young hero, raising her drink in an informal salute.

[Avenger Assembled]

By the time Thunderstanding looked Jack's way again, he'd moved to her other side with speed, quiet, and dexterity. With a smile, he offered her his arm, a gentleman escorting a lady around the floor. Hey, if she's interested, she's interested. "Come with me, and I'll introduce you to all sorts of interesting people." Whether or not she took his arm or not, Jack began walking Thunderstanding along the floor, heading first for the host of the party himself. I don't actually know this guy. But what the heck, let's see what I can get away with. "Thunderstanding? I'd like you to meet the host of this fabulous party, Mr. Ace Danger," said a smiling man who Ace had never seen before in his life. "Ace, this is Thunderstanding. She's a lady who knows how to drink." Jack waved his mint julep for emphasis, the liquid inside looking nearly drained.

[Sacerdos]

By the time Thunderstanding looked Jack's way again, he'd moved to her other side with speed, quiet, and dexterity. With a smile, he offered her his arm, a gentleman escorting a lady around the floor. Hey, if she's interested, she's interested. "Come with me, and I'll introduce you to all sorts of interesting people."

Thunder traded her empty for the replacement nuclear fallout, then looped a heavily muscled arm around Jack's offered elbow. "Lead on, Discreet!"

Jack began walking Thunderstanding along the floor, heading first for the host of the party himself. I don't actually know this guy. But what the heck, let's see what I can get away with. "Thunderstanding? I'd like you to meet the host of this fabulous party, Mr. Ace Danger," said a smiling man who Ace had never seen before in his life. "Ace, this is Thunderstanding. She's a lady who knows how to drink." Jack waved his mint julep for emphasis, the liquid inside looking nearly drained.

Thunder raised an eyebrow and shot Jack a dubious look. A lady who knows how to drink? Smoooooth, Mr. Not-Getting-My-Phone-Number-Ever. Her expression cleared rapidly and she smiled broadly at Ace. "Heck of a shindig you're throwing here. Thanks for the invite!"

[angrydurf]

Pompadour turned to take the walking, sparkly shadow's hand "Death... er, Dark Star." Given the inherent problems with shaking hands with an insubstantial man, Pompadour's awkward smile escalated slightly and he turned towards Ace Danger instead, "Ace."

"Having a party for heroes to network is genius. It's the sort of thing my agent would have had me do, if I had the big name draw. I definitely hope to make some contacts that I'll be confident to call after tonight. I had a chance to work with Mercy and Avenger, so far..." Pompadour frowns as he sips champagne. He has stopped scanning the party for more interesting people to talk to, giving the host his full attention. "That team-up with Avenger though... entirely impromptu. I don't understand crime in The Fens, and that means I can't judge, but I need to be image conscious, and that sort of vigilantism isn't the image that I want to fit into."

Ace smiled a knowing smile, "Well image does have a place but there is a place for all kinds of Heroes even those with creepy manerisms." He turned to the group at large as Duncan Summers offered greeting "There was a time the Raven was looked at in much the same light for his antics after all." Ace smiled at the headmaster "Mr. Summers I'm glad you could escape the training of the next generation for an eavening out," And with a gesture at the small knot of students "and turn it into a learning experiance as well."

"Thunderstanding? I'd like you to meet the host of this fabulous party, Mr. Ace Danger," said a smiling man who Ace had never seen before in his life. "Ace, this is Thunderstanding. She's a lady who knows how to drink." Jack waved his mint julep for emphasis, the liquid inside looking nearly drained.

As Jack and Thunderstanding suddenly arrived Ace turned a quizical eye on the strange masked man, "Thunderstanding, Welcome," He turned to Jack with the kind of predatory grin he'd likely not seen outside of vampire council meetings "And I'm sorry to say sir that I can't recognize you out of costume, you are?"

[Sacerdos]

As Jack and Thunderstanding suddenly arrived Ace turned a quizical eye on the strange masked man, "Thunderstanding, Welcome," He turned to Jack with the kind of predatory grin he'd likely not seen outside of vampire council meetings "And I'm sorry to say sir that I can't recognize you out of costume, you are?"

"Oh," interjected Thunderstanding helpfully, "this is Discreet."

[Heritage]

"And you too, fair lady. There's quite a crowd out there. You never know who you're going to meet."

Grim smiled and nodded.

"Okay, sure, why not?"

She grabbed the last two tasty bites of food off her plate, then reclaimed her glass and looked for a place to leave the empty plate; by the time one of the waitstaff came to her rescue, Thunder and the slightly cheesy hot guy had found another group of heroes with whom to chat. Cursing slightly under her breath, she scooted across the room (if not for her grace, she might well have tripped) and came to a halt at the edge of the group, with a classic feline 'I meant to do that' expression on her face.

I'll just kinda hang back, I guess; ooh, Chris Isaak Guy is here.

She smiles and makes a goofy face at Pompadour, as if to say 'Can you believe this joint?' About half a second later, she recognizes him from the cover of Us Weekly.

Oh wow, it's that guy!

[Cyroa]

Ace nodded thoughtfully at Dark Stars comentary. "I can understand that. The more obvious our differences the harder it is to realize our similarities." The host started wending his way through the crowd as he continued "But we are united in purpose here and I think that is something the comunity needs to remember." He Greeted a few of the others they passed with a gracefull wave and a smile as they moved through the crowd. "After the Moore act Freedoms defenders were scattered often turned against one another. The invasion was a respite but the damage was deeper. I think if..." He glanced up at the memorial display of the invasion with Centurion central for a moment "well no changing the past right?" As Ace closed the last distance to his target group he answered the question "I hope to remind the Heroes of freedom that despite our differences we can work together, while our methods may vary we are this cities defenders and that common bond needs to be recognized."

Dark Star nodded at the man. “A worthy goal. Hope and teamwork can help surmount the greatest of obstacles. I think we’ll be hearing quite a lot from you. I look forward to seeing your successes.â€Â

They approached Pompadour and the Spartan and Ace smiled broadly, "Spartan, Pompadour, Welcome. May I introduce Dark Star." He made a sweeping gesture for Dark Star to step forward "He's done some excelent work recently. Helped take down that Knieval fellow among other things." He paused for a moment before completing the introductions turning to face Dark Star as he introduced the others "Pompadour is new on the scene but my money says he's one to watch." Ace gives a quick wink to the coifed hero "Spartan is more experianced but like myself newly returned." He looks at the three of them for a moment "I think its a good thing to know the other independant opperators around in case you need some expertise." With a smile Ace turns to the Spartan "Wouldn't you agree?"

Pompadour turned to take the walking, sparkly shadow's hand "Death... er, Dark Star." Given the inherent problems with shaking hands with an insubstantial man, Pompadour's awkward smile escalated slightly and he turned towards Ace Danger instead, "Ace."

"Having a party for heroes to network is genius. It's the sort of thing my agent would have had me do, if I had the big name draw. I definitely hope to make some contacts that I'll be confident to call after tonight. I had a chance to work with Mercy and Avenger, so far..." Pompadour frowns as he sips champagne. He has stopped scanning the party for more interesting people to talk to, giving the host his full attention. "That team-up with Avenger though... entirely impromptu. I don't understand crime in The Fens, and that means I can't judge, but I need to be image conscious, and that sort of vigilantism isn't the image that I want to fit into."

Dark Star nodded in greeting, not bothering to move his hand given how little it would do. “Please to meet all of you.†He raised an eyebrow, not that anyone could see it, at Pompadour’s comment. Agents? Image Conscious? Is he a hero or a star? I suppose people could be both I guess, he thought to himself. “I’ve worked with Avenger several times. He might be rather... grim, abrupt and aggressive. But he’s a hero nonetheless. He stands against villainy and the darkness without concern of reward or fame. A good man.â€Â

By the time Thunderstanding looked Jack's way again, he'd moved to her other side with speed, quiet, and dexterity. With a smile, he offered her his arm, a gentleman escorting a lady around the floor. Hey, if she's interested, she's interested. "Come with me, and I'll introduce you to all sorts of interesting people." Whether or not she took his arm or not, Jack began walking Thunderstanding along the floor, heading first for the host of the party himself. I don't actually know this guy. But what the heck, let's see what I can get away with. "Thunderstanding? I'd like you to meet the host of this fabulous party, Mr. Ace Danger," said a smiling man who Ace had never seen before in his life. "Ace, this is Thunderstanding. She's a lady who knows how to drink." Jack waved his mint julep for emphasis, the liquid inside looking nearly drained.

Thunder raised an eyebrow and shot Jack a dubious look. A lady who knows how to drink? Smoooooth, Mr. Not-Getting-My-Phone-Number-Ever. Her expression cleared rapidly and she smiled broadly at Ace. "Heck of a shindig you're throwing here. Thanks for the invite!"

Dark Star nodded in greeting to the two newcomers. He eyed the only one not in costume with interest but only for a moment. He hadn’t expected to see the man here. Like this or otherwise. He nodded in greeting to Jack before turning to Thunderstanding. “Good evening. I’m called Dark Star. Pleasure to meet you.â€Â

Ace smiled a knowing smile, "Well image does have a place but there is a place for all kinds of Heroes even those with creepy manerisms." He turned to the group at large as Duncan Summers offered greeting "There was a time the Raven was looked at in much the same light for his antics after all." Ace smiled at the headmaster "Mr. Summers I'm glad you could escape the training of the next generation for an eavening out," And with a gesture at the small knot of students "and turn it into a learning experiance as well."

As Jack and Thunderstanding suddenly arrived Ace turned a quizical eye on the strange masked man, "Thunderstanding, Welcome," He turned to Jack with the kind of predatory grin he'd likely not seen outside of vampire council meetings "And I'm sorry to say sir that I can't recognize you out of costume, you are?"

He looked at the older man curiously though he wasn’t familiar with him and greeted him with a nod. When Ace turned to question Jack however, he spoke up. “Ah, he’s welcome here. He’s … †He searched for something he could say without ruining the man’s time. “..a friend. He deserves to be here.†It wasn’t much and certainly didn’t explain much. Besides, he had no intention of explaining it further. Jack could it explain it away however he liked. He noticed Scarab a little ways off in the crowd as well. It seems like half of the people he knew were here. Not that that was saying much.

"Oh," interjected Thunderstanding helpfully, "this is Discreet."

Dark Star couldn’t help but wonder what Jack had been telling people.

She grabbed the last two tasty bites of food off her plate, then reclaimed her glass and looked for a place to leave the empty plate; by the time one of the waitstaff came to her rescue, Thunder and the slightly cheesy hot guy had found another group of heroes with whom to chat. Cursing slightly under her breath, she scooted across the room (if not for her grace, she might well have tripped) and came to a halt at the edge of the group, with a classic feline 'I meant to do that' expression on her face.

Dark Star glanced over at the newest lovely lady to join the conversation and nodded. He didn’t want her to feel left out of the conversation. “Good evening. I’m Dark Star.â€Â

[Ecalsneerg]

The bartender obediently poured Chris a tall, cold Carlsberg, foam piled just high enough on the huge mug to lure the young man in like a moth to a flame. Daisy giggled and put her hand over her mouth at his naughty cleverness, and was just about to order a drink of her own when Geckoman felt something big and heavy clamp down on his shoulder. It turned out to be a hand, followed quickly by an amazingly deep voice. "Well well well, Mr. McKenzie." Chris recognized the voice of his ethics teacher very well, the gigantic Leeroy Hawke looming over him with a cheerful smile on his broad face. The former Turbo-Boost was an oddly outsized man, even for someone so strong; a common thing given how much supervillans of the 90s had hit the MAX. "I trust you and Ms. Gibbons are representing our school to the best of your abilities?" He released the smaller teenager, but stayed close by.

"Of course, sir. I volunteered to go get one of those fine gentlemen a drink, just to give a good impression," snapped off Chris without a change in expression. He even pulled down the sunglasses to show off his innocent-looking eyes. "I mean, my epic hat is too noticeable to pull it off, right?" Superheroes shouldn't lie and cheat... wait, teenager. I can has leeway nao? He grabbed the pint. I can't believe I'm going to have to do this. It's frankly embarassing. "I'll just go give it to him," said Chris, quickly moving forwards with the girl. "We'll cause a distraction and loop back after this," he muttered to the teacher couldn't hear.

Right, now I just need to do the puppy dog eyes thing to someone and hope this works... damn, this is painful. He walked over to the large group talking with... Duncan... Summers... Abort! Abort! Geckoman stood and just blinked. Run while you can! To the hills, Geckoman! Flee! That's no mooooooooon!

[angrydurf]

Ace quickly noted the young mans distress and with a delicate hand took the glass from Geckoman, "Thank you Geckoman I'm sorry to have imposed upon your evening." Ace covered for the young man deftly.

[Avenger Assembled]

Mr. Hawke laughed that deep-throated, cheerfully boisterous laugh of his and gave Christopher Kenzie a look. "Good to see you're thinking on your feet, Mr. Kenzie. We'll talk later. Nice hat. Ms. Gibbons." He tipped his own imaginary chapeau to Geckoman and Student Body both before moving on to chat with the recently-arrived financier David Sloane, the two men moving away from the group of teenagers to engage in a quiet, calm bit of adult chatter. By the time Chris made it back to his unspeakably gorgeous "date," he realized that Daisy and Clarence were deep in the middle of the most teenage of conversations: an argument. "If you're so mad about me hanging out with Kenzie, why don't you do something about it, Clarence?" murmured Daisy Gibbons with the ice and fire of a teenage prom queen.

"Just a man enjoying the party," Jack replied to Ace, actually doing the "shoot with an imaginary finger-gun" thing that so many annoying people have done over the years. "I'm afraid I don't socialize with other superheroes...like at all," he told Ace almost apologetically. "But my name is on your list." He actually felt kind of bad lying to Ace Danger, though not nearly bad enough to not actually do it. He introduced Grimalkin to Ace as well. "This is Grimalkin, one of the protectors of the Fens. She's a fine lady as well. Both of these ladies...really fine." He waved his glass around, the perfect image of the slightly inebriated partygoer. "Lady here does like to call me Discreet. Hope it's true!"

[Sacerdos]

"Just a man enjoying the party," Jack replied to Ace, actually doing the "shoot with an imaginary finger-gun" thing that so many annoying people have done over the years. "I'm afraid I don't socialize with other superheroes...like at all," he told Ace almost apologetically. "But my name is on your list." He actually felt kind of bad lying to Ace Danger, though not nearly bad enough to not actually do it. He introduced Grimalkin to Ace as well. "This is Grimalkin, one of the protectors of the Fens. She's a fine lady as well. Both of these ladies...really fine." He waved his glass around, the perfect image of the slightly inebriated partygoer. "Lady here does like to call me Discreet. Hope it's true!"

Thunderstanding shrugged at Ace. "That's what he said his name was."

[Heritage]

Even with all the hubub in the room, Grim's excellent hearing picks up tantalizing bits and pieces, especially a little drama involving an underaged color-blind pimp.

Boy, the stuff I miss out on by not hangin' with kids my own age.

“Good evening. I’m Dark Star.â€Â

The petite hero turned to Star and beamed.

"Hello, I'm Grimalkin, or just Grim, as was mentioned."

She's about to extend a hand when she truly comprehends the nature of the incorporeal hero's powers, and stops herself.

"Ooh, you're not terribly solid, are you? That's cool; I slipped into a crack house through a crack in the window once."

Grim frowns rather comically at her last statement, but then dismisses it with a wave of her hand.

"Anyway. So, I take it you sneak into places a lot, Dark, but the real question is, what do you do when you get there?" ;)

[Lord Fell]

Pompadour sipped his champagne and eyed the other man in a domino mask. Where the hell do I know him from? Before tonight, you've only met three superheroes, and he ain't one of them... so you must know him as a civilian? Mr. Discrete? I don't think I've heard of him... but I shouldn't have, if he doesn't suck. Maybe he's an investigator? Checked up on me? Maybe?

Pompadour barked out a laugh. "A slipped through a crack into a crack house. Awesome-sauce." He reached out to take Grimalkin's hand, briefly brushing his lips across the back. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Grimalkin, I'm Pompadour." Turning to Thunderstanding, Pompadour does an exotic little foot shuffle, ending in a martial-arts style bow -somewhat marred by the half-full champagne glass he is still holding. "Sifu... Perhaps later you'll show me if you dance as well as you fight." Pompadour glanced at Mr. Discrete while listening to Dark Star's endorsement, but did not greet the enigmatic... guest.

Pompadour sipped again from his diminishing champagne supply, as he listed to the talk of street crime and vigilantism. "I'm not saying Avenger's a bad guy. When we worked together the first thing he asked me to do was clear the innocent bystanders. Priorities tell the tale there. But, I'm not sure if that style of heroism is doing much good against problems where the root cause is poverty. If my economics isn't completely faulty, taking 10% of the drug supply off the streets just pushes up the price by 10%. Half the people caught up in that cycle of crime are victims, not perpetrators... On the other hand, if I had a better idea on how to handle that type of crime, I wouldn't be keeping it to myself, that's for sure. I'm far more comfortable with dropping some dumb-ass trying to steal money from a bank... there's no grey area there to warp my mind."

Pompadour tosses back the last of his champagne, and nods in the general direction of the bar, before drifting that way.

[Cyroa]

Dark Star nodded at Grimalkin with a smile. "Pleasure. Grim it is then." He chuckled. "Nice pun there."

He looked at her curiously. "I apologize but I have not idea who you are or what you powers are. I don't exactly get out much. How did you slip through?"

He just chuckled at the last. "Depends. In case of sociopathic blood sucking monsters, I tend to simple start blasting. People, I don't want to risk killing; just too risky. Others I'll do some snooping around before anything else. Actually, before meeting Avenger, I must confess I just flew in and announced my presence. Not quiet and stealth by any stretch of the imagination. I was abused of the notion shortly after returning to Earth and meeting the Knights. Live and learn! I certainly get shot a little less now," he added with a chuckle.

He glanced back over at Pompadour. "Avenger isn't fighting economics. He's fighting criminals, among other things. We can all only do so much. The crimes he focuses tend to have more victims and be more brutal. They are certainly common enough sadly. If you have economic ideas, please enact or share them. Though I'm not sure any of us have the finanical clout for it anyway. But someone might be able to use them. It certainly isn't something I can do. I can't affect changes in economics or capital. Unless you want a rare asteroid or mineral from another planet of course." He shrugged as the man turned to me off. He wasn't a big fan of the grey area either.

[Ecalsneerg]

Mr. Hawke laughed that deep-throated, cheerfully boisterous laugh of his and gave Christopher Kenzie a look. "Good to see you're thinking on your feet, Mr. Kenzie. We'll talk later. Nice hat. Ms. Gibbons."

I knew this hat would work well. I'm still going to die, but at least I'm going to die looking so damn gorgeous it hurts.

He tipped his own imaginary chapeau to Geckoman and Student Body both before moving on to chat with the recently-arrived financier David Sloane, the two men moving away from the group of teenagers to engage in a quiet, calm bit of adult chatter. By the time Chris made it back to his unspeakably gorgeous "date," he realized that Daisy and Clarence were deep in the middle of the most teenage of conversations: an argument. "If you're so mad about me hanging out with Kenzie, why don't you do something about it, Clarence?" murmured Daisy Gibbons with the ice and fire of a teenage prom queen.

I think I know that kid. Doesn't he have, like, rubbish powers? I mean, seriously, I've got frickin' lasers on my wrists and a selection of fun hardware on my glitter encrusted belt. I just go rummage-rummage, pull out the stuff and THWACK. Power knuckles to face. "Woah, dude, chill. Nothing happened, what you getting so worried about? Also..." Memory flashed into the teen's head. "What exactly did you say about my mother? "

[angrydurf]

Ace didn't take his eyes off 'Mr. Discrete' as the others spoke. Ace knew his 'list' very well and knew Dark Star to be nothing but forthright, perhaps too forthright at times, and he clearly knew the man and knew him to be a fellow Hero. Small leap to assume they had worked together in the past and as Dark Star had said he was not exactly subtle in general, Dark Stars exploits were well documented. Also since he was clearly attending incognito he had to have been able to sneak in. The security was not exactly airtight but it was good.

So a Hero who had worked with Dark Star, didn't like publicity, and was able to sneak in without tripping even a hint of an alert. Arrowhawk or Avenger seemed the likely candidates, there were other heroes who could get in, and certainly others who avoided the public eye and this event. But Dark Star hadn't worked with many heroes since his arrival and Ace kept up on such things.

"Well if Dark Star speaks for you than I will accept that. Welcome Mr. Discrete." Ace extended a hand in greeting to secretive guest.

He then addressed the group at large "Economic turmoil is a crutch of weak morals. Those of us like young Grimalkin here well know that the streets of places like the Fens are full of honest and hard working folks who try and scrape by and don't hurt anyone. They suffer under poverty to be certain but maintain the moral fortitude not to stray to criminal pursuits. No, economics is certainly an excuse and poverty should be fought as well as crime, but there are those that have nothing and look up and work for a better life and those who creep in dark places and prey upon thier fellow man." Ace paused for a moment "Appologies, I sometimes wax philisophical in my doderage." He flashes a quick grin at his own jest.

[Avenger Assembled]

Jack stared at Ace, feeling an odd twist in his chest. When he spoke, it was with real feeling, the drunken sot he'd been pretending to be disappearing for a revealing moment. "Choosing a better life is a more difficult task for some people than others. With all the disadvantages that people in the Fens have, their protectors need to work especially hard. And the people there who need fighting, those who prey on their neighbors, should suffer especially for preying on the weakest and the most vulnerable. There's nothing worse than someone who feeds on the suffering of their neighbors. Nothing." A little belatedly, Jack looked down at his empty glass. "I think I need more liquor. Excuse me."

[Heritage]

"I apologize but I have not idea who you are or what you powers are. I don't exactly get out much. How did you slip through?"

Grim laughs and goes a little pink in the cheeks as she signals a waiter and trades her empty champagne glass for a fresh one.

"Oh, that's totally, that's fine."

She takes a sip and then runs her finger around the edge of the glass as she tries to find the right words to explain exactly what she does.

"The thing of it is, I'm a shapeshifter, and I can use that ability to make myself more, uh, gooey is the best way to put it, I guess. So really I just kind of-"

And here she slides her hand through the air.

"Shlurped in through the window, through a crack about that thin."

The young shapeshifter shrugs.

"Kinda gross, I know, but hey, it gets the job done."

Grim is about to ask Dark Star about his travels in space, because how cool is that, but then the topic shifts to Avenger, economics and the Fens, a subject she feels very qualified to discuss. She holds her hand up a bit and nods.

"Okay, here's the thing; you guys are right about how crime is all about the money, because obviously it is, and because of that, I think we can't just stop at beating people up. We need to do more for the victims, too."

As she warms to her topic, her hands get increasingly animated, and her champagne dangerously close to splashing someone.

"I maintain a small fund that I use to help hookers buy tickets out of town; these girls are getting cut to ribbons by their pimps, and there's nowhere safe for them in Freedom if they try to get out of the life. And you know the cops in the Fens have better things to do than, say, actually helping people."

And now that champagne is looking kinda scary... :?

"What we need to do is work together to make this legit, not just one scrawny pixie girl with a bag of crumpled twenties in her closet; we need to do this thing now, not-"

And there it goes, out of the glass, and all over the front of Thunder's dress.

"Oh man, I'm sorry! I get all worked up over this stuff. Can we get some towels over here, or lots of napkins?"

[angrydurf]

Jack stared at Ace, feeling an odd twist in his chest. When he spoke, it was with real feeling, the drunken sot he'd been pretending to be disappearing for a revealing moment. "Choosing a better life is a more difficult task for some people than others. With all the disadvantages that people in the Fens have, their protectors need to work especially hard. And the people there who need fighting, those who prey on their neighbors, should suffer especially for preying on the weakest and the most vulnerable. There's nothing worse than someone who feeds on the suffering of their neighbors. Nothing." A little belatedly, Jack looked down at his empty glass. "I think I need more liquor. Excuse me."

Ace senses he's touched a nerve here, a defender of the Fens then, that narrowed the field a bit further yet. He frowned at his drink as the gentleman excused himself "Hmm seems I'll be joining you never send a boy to do a mans work." Ace turned and followed Jack towards the bar catching some of Grimalkins tirade he made a note to speak with her further about her project. The comotion at her spilt champagne did draw his attention for a moment and he motioned some staff over to aid in the clean up before turning back to the matter at hand.

[Sacerdos]

"What we need to do is work together to make this legit, not just one scrawny pixie girl with a bag of crumpled twenties in her closet; we need to do this thing now, not-"

And there it goes, out of the glass, and all over the front of Thunder's dress.

"Oh man, I'm sorry! I get all worked up over this stuff. Can we get some towels over here, or lots of napkins?"

For an instant, perhaps a second, maybe two, Thunder looked like she was about to shove one of her fists deep into Grim's face. It was a silent violence, the kind that was all about inflicting damage rather than protecting injured dignity. And it was gone as rapidly as it appeared, replaced by the former fighter's easy smile and a deep sigh.

"Don't worry," she said, simultaneously amused and annoyed, "it's only silk."

The muscular heroine said, "Excuse me," to nobody in particular and headed toward the bathrooms.

[Heritage]

"Don't worry," she said, simultaneously amused and annoyed, "it's only silk."

"Excuse me."

Aw crap, I'm the worst hero ever.

She slips free of the rest of the conversation and catches up with Thunder, which isn't exactly easy considering the taller woman's longer stride, and navigating the crowd to keep up is quite the challenge.

"Hey, look, I am...beyond sorry for that; I'm horrified, ashamed, and even, oh excuse me, even abashed. And though I could see in your eyes that you really wanted to abash my face in, I was really hoping I could, pardon me, sorry, grovel a bit, and, uh, I dunno, buy you lunch or coffee or something to make it up to you."

She stops and indicates the dress.

"I would so buy you a new dress, if I had the money, but I don't; I would even steal you a new dress, if I knew your measurements and was, y'know...well, nevermind."

Grim closes her eyes and sighs.

"I'm really, really sorry, and I promise you that if we ever work together in the future, you can, I dunno, push me off a bridge or something. Whatever you wanna do."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star noted how passionate Grim spoke, include the flying drink. In fact this topic seemed to be rather personal to most of the people. One minute he had been standing in rather large group talking. And the next, practically everyone had disappeared or walked away. To the bar, away with a girl, apologies for projectile alcohol, or just 'away', Dark Star was left standing there wondering what exactly had happened.

He shook his head, wondering exactly what had happened. He could track and deal with numerous hostile forces without batting an eye. Here? He was lost and just trying to keep up. He looked around with a mental shrug, trying to think of what to next. Ah well...

[Lord Fell]

Truth be told, Pompadour was feeling the stress of being around so many big name supers and he was feeling a little claustrophobic. Spouting about his non-existent master plan for solving the most miserable of crime made him uncomfortably aware of exactly how thoroughly clueless he was.

The drink-spilling incident caused him to glance over his shoulder. Mr. Discrete was following him... and was Ace Danger following Mr. Discrete, or was he following Pompadour? He frowned and shifted directions abruptly. Turning mid-stride to swing past a waiter, and deposit his empty glass on the man's tray, Pompadour headed for the buffet instead. That's what a secret agent would do, to find out if he's being tailed, right? A few more James Bond marathons and you'll be a total pro.

He paused for a moment, near the bickering Claremont Couple, eavesdropping. He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Well, this is a bittersweet moment. The fact that I find your highschool antics entirely banal must mean I'm no longer a young person."

[Avenger Assembled]

By the time Jack came back to the small group of people, it wasn't a group anymore. He shot Dark Star a look that was hard for the alien hero to read, some nameless emotion passing in his eyes. "Well...that was effective." He shot Dark Star a sudden, nigh-wicked grin as he raised his glass to his lips. "Guess I'm not as socially inept as I thought I was." Looking around, he took a step closer to Dark Star and added, "So, Dark Star, tell me about the current political situation around the Solar System. Do you think the Lor are serious about their relationship with humanity?" I hope that made sense. I'd hate for Dark Star to realize that I have no idea what on Earth I'm talking about here.

Across the room, Clarence Beaudrie gave Chris Kenzie a truly malevolent sneer. "I didn't say anything you can't hear down in the gutter, boy," he murmured icily to Chris. "I think it's your curfew, Kenzie. Why don't you run home to your mommy now and make sure she's okay?" Behind him, Daisy suppressed a giggle, batting her eyelashes at Chris coquettishly if he objected to her obvious enjoyment of the spat between the two boys. When Pompadour passed by, she caught his attention and gave him a huge, gorgeous smile. "Oh, I hope we're more than just banal, sir," she said with warm, soothing syrup in her voice.

[Sacerdos]

"I'm really, really sorry, and I promise you that if we ever work together in the future, you can, I dunno, push me off a bridge or something. Whatever you wanna do."

As she reached the bathroom door, Thunder stopped so abruptly that Grim nearly ran into her. The larger heroine turned to face her smaller tail, smiling sourly. "Would you, y'know, shut up?" She splayed her hands out in a semi-aggressive not-quite shove as she spat out the last two syllables. Waving her hands back and forth tensely, she added loudly, "Christ on a freakin' crutch! It's just a freakin' dress!"

After a beat, she turned back toward the door and spoke in a low growl, "Don't follow me."

With that, she slammed the rest room door open and stormed inside. Fortunately, the party was swank enough to merit real towels in the powder room, and Thunder began using them to wet the stained area of her dress as she fumed. She'd been under control until Grimalkin had followed her. My God, she's annoying! As soon as the thought arose, Thunder admitted that it was unfair, a product of the infamous Whiting temper. The realization, of course, did nothing to improve the pugnacious heroine's mood.