The Pickle Hut, Los Angeles, Thursday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

The Pickle Hut was quietly popular; it had a normal crowd and a decent-sized rush around lunch and dinner, but there were definitely parts of the day that diners could head in and have the restaurant to themselves. Nick, having grown up not far away, could practically set his watch by those times. They were his preferred times to eat there, since he was getting to be a well-known agent for a very known firm. And in LA, where an agent went, the paparazzi had learned that stars often followed after. So days when Nick wanted to lunch in relative peace, he headed down to The Pickle Hut during one of those empty time slots and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Those dead times also came in handy when you were a superhero meeting up with other superheroes to discuss a zombie invasion over delicious burgers and brined foods. It was pretty inevitable that they'd all find themselves here; Nick had introduced Kathy to it a year ago and sometimes their schedules overlapped enough that they'd end up catching a meal together. So when Max had started complaining about needing to eat, they'd both suggested The Pickle Hut in unison. It was close, cheap, and filling; Mona was content to leave them alone to talk with only the occasional interruption for refills; and they had the chance to eat truly addictive pickles and talk about hordes of the undead without being overheard.

The Mighty Dragon (who just as often went by George) and Stealth (who remained Stealth and had yet to be seen unmasked), had elected to stay and talk strategy. Zzzap had flown back to Boston or wherever, and the rest of the heroes were still at their day jobs. That left Kathy, Max, Nick, and Josh to head to the diner and continue to go over the information they'd gathered during the last few days--while enjoying amazing burgers, giant milkshakes, and random pickled sides--including authentic kimchi which delighted Kathy to no end.

[For the two aggravated ones, please! Link to Dante at the club]

Comments

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"And there's the catch," Anders sighed. "Fine. If that's what you need to do, do it. We can wait a day."

He intentionally didn't comment about how she might convince her parents. His conversations with Kathy about her family had a history of going pear-shaped, and the last thing he wanted to do was add to that.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

"You want backup on that mission?"

Dante's voice was cool. Wasn't anger, though. He was trying to hold back every other scrap of judgment - or other related emotions - that he had in his body.

It was successful as long as you didn't look at his face.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

Fortunately, Kathy wasn't looking at him! She wasn't looking at either of them! She was pressing her lips together at the implication she needed hand-holding, but hey. What else should she expect from someone who thought of her as a Saturday morning cartoon?

"If you want to," she said, spotting the empty liquor bottles on the floor. The lines around her mouth deepened as she calculated how much more that would add to her bill. She was going to have to transfer money from her savings account to cover everything without worrying about an overdraft on her debit card.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"You told us to help or leave," Anders answered, voice as even as he could make it. "We'll help, then we'll leave."

He would have offered to pay for the liquor if Kathy had asked. Minibar fees weren't exactly a major problem in Thedas, and he still half-assumed the drinks were free.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante knew about the minibar fees. But 'conflicted' was a woefully inadequate word for how he was feeling about just about anything right now.

Ada was going to kill him for volunteering. He should probably be back on Fandom, not giving a shit about this to begin with, shooting the shit with her, or Alana, or Isabela.

Fuck, even Ezra.

"What Anders said," he said. "Seems fair."

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah, fair," Kathy said with a laugh that help more than a little sob in it. "That's exactly what this is."

She let her forehead fall forward onto her knees. "You know that if I can't convince my family to go--if this gets out of hand--if they die, that's it right? That's just it? I will never forgive you if my family dies."

She'd wanted to say she'd hate them forever. But she just wasn't wired that way. Especially now, when she was more hurt than mad. She couldn't imagine herself hating anyone for forever. But she could just be done.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"Oh, fuck you," Anders said. "We could knock your parents and sister out and have them safe in Fandom in a matter of hours if you wanted. If they die here, it's on you, not us."

It was easily the most vicious thing he'd ever said. And in that moment, it felt utterly deserved.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

Whatever viciousness there had been in Dante earlier, it had largely dissipated. That didn't mean he could come up with anything to soften that one that didn't feel cheap or untrue. Fuck, if Anders hadn't lashed out, Dante might've anyway.

He shrugged.

It felt like the most appropriate reaction.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

"Because literally kidnapping my family is going to solve all my problems," Kathy said, looking at him, incredulous. "But, right, that's apparently your go-to solution for everything right now."

Did they think they could just traipse through Portalocity with three unconscious bodies and no one would care? That her dad wouldn't get plane tickets back to LA first thing?

Well, second thing. The first thing he'd do would be to go up one side of her and down the other.

"I'd have to keep them unconscious for however long it takes for LA to fall to the zombies. That's not feasible."

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"Why can't you just tell them the truth?" Anders wondered. "Bounce around the living room, show off a movie of zombies, and if they won't trust that at least you'll know you did your best."

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante was glad Anders was coughing up some ideas; he was at the end of his rope, and standing in the corner glowering - or offering to punch something, if need be - was what his speed had gotten whittled down to.

"We'll even pitch in. Bet Anders can make some fireworks happen."

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

Which, honestly, was actually a step up from where he'd been when Kathy left.

"My father hates superheroes," she said, thudding her head lightly against her knees. "He's going to be furious when he finds out I'm one of them. And Mom's going to find a way to be disappointed in me for it and it's all going to be terrible."

But that was the best she had for an idea. Honestly, other than dragging a zombie into the house, it was all she had for an idea. And maybe if she wasn't alone--if it wasn't just her word for it--

"You'll both really come along with me?" she asked, not looking up. "Show off what you can do? Vouch that there are zombies and that they need to leave?"

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"If you think hearing it from complete strangers would help make them believe it, sure," Anders said, shrugging. It was less terrible an idea than kidnapping, anyhow. "I don't mind showing off."

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

It was a step up from a certain point of view, sure. Coming here had involved expending emotional energy, which was something Dante liked to avoid, and he was starting to run low on it - and remembering why he usually didn't bother. That was different.

"Yeah, sure," he said, raising his shoulders in another shrug.

Running real low on it, but still throwing it around.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, they're not going to listen if it just comes from me," Kathy said. "Better to try with several people and hope that quantity matters."

Which also hurt to admit, but in a different way than she was hurting already. That was nice.

"...Thanks."

She wasn't sure it would work at all. Odds were good that they'd dismiss all of them out of hand. And, well, she'd cross--or burn--that bridge when they came to it.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[not_every_mage]

"I'd say anytime," Anders said dryly. "But it hardly seems likely to come up again, does it?"

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not if any of us are lucky," Dante muttered. He slid past them, searching for his coat somewhere in the corner.

He was tired.

Re: Los Angeles At Large

[spin_kick_snap]

"Right," Kathy said flatly. She let her legs fall and curled up around a pillow instead. "Here's hoping we're limited to one zombie apocalypse per lifetime."