Los Angeles, Sunday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

Banzai flipped over the edge of the rooftop, landing in a graceful crouch with her rainbows fluttering around her. She stood easily, not a single bruise or sore spot remaining from her time in Cyseal. It was good to have a healing mage in her back pocket.

Her pleased smile vanished as she wondered how many times Regenerator's wife had thought the same thing.

Poor Regenerator. She wished she could do more for him; just covering his patrol hardly seemed like enough when he was faced with the loss of his wife. But Banzai was hesitant to call the number in her phone, unwilling to intrude on the private grief of a man whose real name she didn't even know. What was she supposed to say? She'd been lucky enough to never really lose anyone close to her; all she had was a few platitudes about being terribly sorry and that time healed all wounds.

Maybe she could bring him some tea later? She was perched on the rooftop of the small teahouse that Regenerator liked to frequent at the beginning of his patrols. He'd introduced her to it over Christmas break, explaining the proprietors were actually happy to serve the masked set, since it meant criminals tended to give the store a wide berth. They'd sat and talked over a few nice cups of Ceylon and Banzai'd told him all about her plans to become a doctor. He explained he was a medical resident for his day job. They laughed at the idea of one day working together in the wards and the streets. She should have given him her real name then, when he'd joked about commandeering her as an intern when it was time.

Maybe if she had, she'd feel less lost now. What was she supposed to do? Well, other than take his patrol and hope that somehow, he'd know that it was taken care of?

[NFB, NFI. Some text taken from Chapter 24, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You", from Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes. OOC welcome, warning for oblique suicide mention.]

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[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Banzai." A deep voice, slightly muffled behind her. "You arrived. I'm glad."

The Mighty Dragon floated down to join her on the rooftop, features obscured by the bright green dragon mask he wore. He clapped a companionable hand on her shoulder, briefly, before stepping away. "I know Gorgon said he'd called you and you'd agreed, but Regenerator mentioned you were a student back East. I wasn't sure you'd be able to make it so quickly. Negotiating flights can be a hassle."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I, uhh, made some friends back at school who can help me out in that regard," Banzai said, feeling guilty for fibbing to the Mighty Dragon about Portalocity. Nick had once referred to him as a flying boy scout and he hadn't exactly been wrong. "But even if I hadn't, I'd be here. This is important."

She couldn't help the rueful chuckle as she added, "Probably not in as timely a fashion, I admit."

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"Still, it's appreciated," the Mighty Dragon said, earnest. "Not everyone would drop what they were doing to head across the country just to pick up a patrol. The hero who'll take it after you needed a few days before he could and he's down in Venice Beach."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Venice Beach?" Kathy asked, running over the current superhero roster in LA. She did her best to stay on top of that. "Is that--"

The loud roar of a motorcycle engine cut her off. Glancing over the edge of the roof, she saw Gorgon's goggles glinting in the streetlight. She gave a wave, rainbows trailing over her wrists, before turning back to the Mighty Dragon. "Isn't that some kind of monster?" she asked, picking up the conversation again. "It's a hero?"

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"Yeeees?" The Mighty Dragon sounded a little unsure of the answer himself. "I mean, yes. Cairax Murrain is a hero, for all that he looks...disturbing. He assures me that he wouldn't need the extra time, except he's about to make a move on a major drug cartel in his area and he wants to finish that up before they know he's on to them." He sighed, real smoke curling from the nostrils of the mask. "I can't really argue with that logic. "

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Doesn't make Murrain less of a creepy son of a bitch, though." Gorgon's voice echoed over the edge of the roof and a few seconds later, he was vaulting over to join them. His jump was too smooth and easy for simple human strength; he was clearly up a tier or two, climbing up the side of a four story building like a children's jungle gym. "Hey, Dragon. Told you Banzai'd be here. Anyway, didn't you kick his ass the first time you met or something?"

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"That was a bit of a misunderstanding," the Mighty Dragon protested, shifting in place like an errant schoolboy. "There were some rich kids beating up a homeless guy for kicks. Cairax was scaring the piss out of them, err, literally--" He glanced over at Banzai for using that kind of language in front of her, getting a smothered grin from under her mask in return. "I was on a random patrol, thought he was attacking the kids, and err, we tussled for a bit before he explained what was really going on. So I took the homeless guy to the hospital and let Cairax finish explaining to the kids what they were doing wrong."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Right," Banzai said. "I'm sure it was a family-friendly lecture. Still..." She gave Gorgon a mischievous glance, dimples obvious under her rainbow mask. "He probably didn't crib it from Battle Group."

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"You got me," Gorgon admitted with a laugh. He showed exactly no shame about admitting it, either. He didn't have to be creative, just effective. Which he was.

Which reminded him...Digging through his pocket, he pulled out a wallet and tossed it Banzai's way. Her surprise on catching it only grew when she opened it up and saw it stuffed with cash. "Los Angeles' finest assholes have decided to contribute generously to the Banzai Transportation fund as a way of thanking you for heading out here and keeping the streets safe from scum like them."

The Mighty Dragon made a disapproving noise under his mask. Gorgon didn't care; Banzai's delighted grin was totally worth it. And it wasn't like he was going to stop mugging these assholes.

[spin_kick_snap]

Banzai thought about protesting, she really did, but decided to just give in with good grace. It wasn't like she was so wealthy she could afford to jaunt back and forth both coasts without concern for Portalocity fares and it wasn't like Gorgon was taking money out of, like, his paycheck or something.

"The Bank of Banzai appreciates these charitable donations," she said. "I wish I didn't have to, but..."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"But times are tough, baby," Gorgon agreed. "We all know that. And it's not like heroing's a well-paying gig." Unless you had a sideline like he did, and Gorgon knew that neither the Mighty Dragon or Banzai did. "And the rest of the time, what? You're still in school, right? Even the Mighty Dragon can't get all judgey about that, can he."

It wasn't really a question, Gorgon giving the Mighty Dragon a bland smile as he said it.

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"No," the Mighty Dragon conceded. "It may not be the most ethical source of funds--" It was hard to glare at Gorgon through the mask, but somehow the Mighty Dragon managed it "--but it's going to a good cause. Don't worry about it, B--"

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Hey."

All three heroes startled. Banzai bounced backwards, arms coming up to defend herself. The Might Dragon floated up into the air a few feet, smoke curling from his mouth. Gorgon stayed rock steady, his hand flashing up to his goggles. The man who had interrupted them didn't move, just looked at them with dull confusion hanging over sharp grief.

Regenerator.

"What--why are you all here?" he asked. "Hi, Banzai. Didn't know you were back on this coast. Isn't it still the middle of your semester?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Banzai looked from the Mighty Dragon to Gorgon and back, but neither of them seemed like they were ready to answer him quite yet. For such a large man, Regenerator could move very quietly. Gorgon looked like he was still trying to puzzle out how he'd gotten up there without them noticing and from the Mighty Dragon's body language, he was probably trying to figure out a way to explain Banzai's presence without bringing up the elephant in the room.

And failing.

With a purely internal grumble about women's emotional work, Banzai stepped forward to explain. "Hi," she said softly. "I just arrived tonight. Spring break ends tomorrow, but I can miss a few classes." She fiddled with the rainbows at her cuffs. "I'm here because I heard. And we thought it would be good to have someone here who knows your beat if you wanted to take some time."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"To cope?" Regenerator asked, sounding bitter. "Take a few days to grieve? To mourn? To contemplate my loss?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's going to take a hell of a lot longer than just a few days to do all that," Banzai said bluntly. Regenerator's head came up in shock at her tone and, behind her, the Mighty Dragon made an abortive noise in his throat.

Tough. If he wanted to be the one to handle this, he should have said something when Regenerator first showed up.

"We--we don't know what happened," she continued, voice gentling. "And it's not important. But someone we care about--a member of our community--just lost his wife. So we're going to do whatever we can to support you. Because that's what heroes do. We don't just help civilians, you know. We help our friends, too."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Regenerator--" The Mighty Dragon began.

"No!" Regenerator barked, holding his hand up. "Just--no. Please, don't call me that. Not yet. I--she gave me that name. I picked the Immortal, but when we realized what I could do, she's the one that came up with the new codename. She's the reason I learned I could heal others."

The fabric under his eyes was wet. He didn't seem to notice. "She was always so clumsy. She cut herself chopping broccoli. I picked it up to examine it, saw it would probably need stitches, then boom. I felt my power bubble up and she was fine. No more cut, no more bleeding. She made me who I am today. She's not just my wife, she was the love of my life. We only had two years together and now she's gone. You think that coming out for a few patrols is somehow going to make everything better? When the only name you can call me is the one she gave me?"

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Whoa, hey, there," Gorgon said, slipping into his characteristic pose, the one that made him look like a gunslinger from the Old West, his leather duster falling in dark lines behind him. "Look, I know you're grieving, but don't take it out on Banzai."

[spin_kick_snap]

Banzai waved him down. "It's okay, Gorgon," she said. "I get what he's saying. I mean, none of us really thought that me coming out here would fix anything for him."

She turned back to Regenerator. "If you want to patrol so you don't have to think about things for a few hours, that's fine. If you'd rather go home and just not deal with being a hero for awhile, that's fine, too. If you want to have a few cups of Ceylon and talk--or not talk--we can make that happen, too. We're here to give you options, Regen--" She frowned, trying to think of what she could call him that wouldn't immediately invoke the spectre of his wife. "Genny. We're here to give you options, so you can do whatever's best for you. It's not worth much at all, but at least it's something. It says we're here for you, too."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"Is that somehow supposed to make me feel better?" Regenerator asked again, though he just sounded tired now.

"No," the Mighty Dragon answered. "Nothing will. Not yet. But it might later on."

"Okay then," Regenerator said, slumping down. "Fine. I guess...could I have some tea? I can figure out what I want to do after some tea. It was the only thing I could think of to get me out of the house anyway."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"I'll get it!" The Mighty Dragon soared over the edge of the building. Gorgon shook his head but followed him to the side. "I'm going to go start on my patrol. Banzai, Re--Genny--whatever, you need something you call."

And then he was jumping over, the loud clang of his passage down the side echoing up to them until they heard the engine of his motorcycle engage.

[spin_kick_snap]

And then it was Banzai and Regenerator, staring at each other through their masks on a rooftop.

So...typical night in the life of a superhero?

"Hey," she said quietly. "Whatever you want to do tonight, whatever you think might help, I've got your back."

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

"I know," Regenerator said softly. "I want to talk about Meredith. I don't want to talk about Meredith. God, I probably shouldn't even talk about Meredith--I probably shouldn't even have said her name. Whatever. It's not like she needs to stay anonymous now. I already failed her. And you might figure out who I am. So what? I lost everything I was already trying to protect."

[spin_kick_snap]

Banzai reached up and untied her mask, letting the rainbow fabric fall into her lap. "Kathy," she said quietly. "My name is Kathy Li and I grew up in KTown, not far from here. And I...I'm eighteen, a senior at a private boarding school in Baltimore."

Honestly, telling Regenerator how old she was was even harder than telling him her real name. She hadn't lied to him when they'd talked about school and her future plans, but she'd been careful to skirt around her actual age.

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

And for good reason. Regenerator rocked backwards on his heels, surprised. "Shit, really?" he asked. "I knew you were young, but damn. I thought you were at least an undergrad! Do your parents know what you do?"