Koreatown, Los Angeles, Wednesday

[spin_kick_snap]

After discovering that Anders could heal the infected, the heroes of LA had been buoyed up by the knowledge that they could stop the spread of the zombie virus. Regenerator couldn't change anyone who had become of full-fledged zombie, but he was able to heal those they got to in time. It helped that the victims tended to have as much as a whole day between when they were bitten and when they turned. Stealth got word out to the populations that were most vulnerable, promising 'free and discreet care' to anyone who needed it, for whatever reason, and soon people were coming to them, either to be healed by 'Genny or two get heroes to help transport the infected back. 'Genny set up a walk-in clinic in a warehouse Stealth had procured and rather than patrolling, Banzai had started helping him there. She was fast, she was agile, she was good at calming people down--she made an excellent assistant and a new rapport sprang up between them.

They were saving lives. They were making a difference. It even made having to move back in with her family (under the guise of visiting for 'spring break') more palatable.

This rush of good feeling lasted for three days. Just three days. They knew they weren't stopping new zombies from turning, but between the people they were healing and the zombies the rest were killing, they really thought they were making a difference.

They were wrong. They were so wrong.

It was Sarah who woke Kathy up from her nap, eyes wide and a little scared. The fear alone had the bottom dropping out of Kathy's stomach; Sarah didn't do scared. She'd gone to school everyday through Seventeen territory and hadn't even flinched. "Sarah," she said, holding out a hand. "What is it?"

"Something's happening," Sarah said, going to sit on Kathy's bed and curling up against her big sister. "Something big. There was some kind of terrorist attack today--like a biological thing. People were screaming and rioting and attacking one another on Hollywood and Highland. Just out in the street in the middle of the day! Like--people ripped one another's throats out and stuff. It's all over the net--people were taking videos and running and screaming--they attacked little kids! And the way they looked--!" Sarah shuddered, hiding her face. "It was awful. Like a horror movie but for real. I watched people die. It looked like some were getting eaten."

"You shouldn't be watching this kind of stuff," Kathy said absently, stroking her sister's hair while her mind whirled. "It's just going to freak you out. Don't worry, the superheroes will fix it."

"I hope so," Sarah said, cuddling close. "Cause the videos I saw? It looked like the end of the world."

[NFB, but Kathy's going to be calling people. If you want her to call you (or want to call her), ping in and she did!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"I guess I could go back to running up the water bill again," Kathy joked, willing him to go along with it, to be amused, to let her hear his laugh. "Then skip out before the bill actually arrives."

Not that she'd been feeling particularly amorous of late. Even running around as Banzai, thrilling as it still was, hadn't left her needing the way it usually did.

And if you hurt me
That's okay baby, only words bleed
Inside these pages you just hold me
And I won't ever let you go
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home

"I am going to break Sarah's ipod," she said through gritted teeth.

[not_every_mage]

"Maybe leave some cash on your mattress to cover the water bill when you slip out," Anders joked. "And don't worry about Sarah. That's a pretty song. If you complain she'll probably put on something worse."

He'd noticed a certain theme to the lyrics of the songs that had been playing during their conversation, and almost remarked on the coincidence.

[spin_kick_snap]

So had Kathy. To the point where she was tempted to slam into her sister's room and demand to know how much Sarah knew and how she'd figured it all out. But she wasn't going to remark on how apt they were, either. It just seemed safer not to.

"She's being rude," Kathy settled on. "I shouldn't have to hear her blaring her music. She wouldn't do that if our parents were home."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Right. Sorry. I keep forgetting." Because there wasn't any validating evidence, Kathy!

[vdistinctive]

"Shit," Eliot said succinctly. "Well. I mean at least it's probably finally gettin' the CDC's attention." This was very, very bad. "Darlin', I know you're still doin' the good work and all, but please tell me you gotta plan for gettin' you and yours out of this before it's too late. What's your tippin' point?"

[not_every_mage]

"Do you get to have any fun when your parents are home?" Anders wondered. "They sound like they don't believe in it."

Whoever the rude person in the dorms was, they had switched the music to something even sadder. Anders winced when he hear the words.

Everytime I think of you, I always catch my breath
And I'm still standing here, and you're miles away
And I'm wonderin' why you left
And there's a storm that's raging through my frozen heart tonight

I hear your name in certain circles, and it always makes me smile
I spend my time thinkin' about you, and it's almost driving me wild
And there's a heart that's breaking down this long distance line tonight

"That's it," he said. "I'm taking the phone up on the roof."

[tigerundercover]

"I feel like using superpowers for good should count really high on an application. Like, don't-need-any-other-extracurriculars high."

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's all right," Kathy said, making sure to sound extra patronizing. "I knew you were a little slow from the beginning. It's okay, we can still be friends."

And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

There went that weird radio again.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"And here I was being nice to you. Note that I haven't asked what in the world you're listening to. Or why."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Uhhh..." Kathy was saved from having to come up with an answer by the radio. That stupid, fucking radio with its on-point music.

"Roof sounds good," Kathy said. "If Sarah doesn't turn her damn music down, I might have to check out our building's rooftop, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Agreed," Kathy said fervently. "Like, being a superhero doesn't leave a lot of time for extracurriculars!"

[tigerundercover]

"And it incorporates all sorts of skills. If only it didn't have the whole secret identity component, you'd be set."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Uhh..."

That was a comforting answer, wasn't it?

"Portals, I guess? I mean driving is terrible in the city on a regular day and LAX has already rerouted the flights scheduled to come in today. So portals are probably our only option, really."

[spin_kick_snap]

"On the plus side, it does mean that I'm awesome enough to have gotten into Stanford regardless," Kathy said, trying to preen. She wasn't really in the mood, but that kind of banter was almost expected at this point in the conversation. "Surely they can forgive a little bit of summer school!"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Wait, that's not your radio?" Kathy asked, confused. "I just thought you were listening to music really loudly or something."

[vdistinctive]

"Alright," Eliot said. He hadn't had Portalocity fuck with him the same way a lot of other people had, so he saw no problem with that answer. "But I was also askin' when. I need to know you know your limit. That when you know when to retreat."

[tigerundercover]

"I can sneak in disguised as the Dean and change their records, if they don't," Raven offered. Someone was watching Benny Hill or something really loudly, all of the sudden. She could hear it through the walls. "It's a foolproof plan."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"You know I don't listen to old music." Ringo rolled her eyes. Come on, Kathy, Ringo had taste!

(For, you know, some value of the term.)

[spin_kick_snap]

"Uhhh," Kathy said again, floundering for an answer. She'd been so focused on them beating this thing that she hadn't considered the possibility they'd lose.

Demi Lovato started singing just then.

You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I'm made of glass
Like I'm made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground
Like a skyscraper
Like a skyscraper

"Cool it with the music, Sarah!" Kathy yelled. "I'm on the phone!"

"I told you!" Sarah called back through the wall. "I'm not listening to anything! You're crazy!"

[vdistinctive]

"Dammit, Kathy!" Eliot rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered why he ever let Parker talk him into teaching in the first place. "You always gotta have an exit strategy!" Hardison and Parker would probably give him skeptical looks at this. But just because his own exit strategies weren't always obvious didn't mean he didn't have them.

Admittedly, most of them involved him throwing himself at the threat until his team could slip by and get out of the way of danger.

[not_every_mage]

"Hang on," Anders said, and then she'd hear footsteps and doors opening and closing as he made his way to the rooftop.

"Tell me about your room," he said, by way of making conversation. "What's it like?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Huh," Kathy said. "This isn't Sarah's usual kind of music, but maybe she just has the radio up really loud?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's pretty small," Kathy said, stretching out on her bed. "Smaller than our dorms. My whole apartment is pretty tiny, actually." Perils of living in LA and not being wealthy. "Most of it's filled with books, except for my shelves of gymnastic trophies and stuff. All silver and bronze, no gold. I was too tall to come in first. And there's my closet with a small dresser shoved inside of it, and my desk. I've got some posters hung up--gymnasts and K-Pop stars mostly. They're from when I was a kid, but I never bothered taking them down."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Raven, you're a genius!" Kathy said, laughing--a real laugh and it felt so good to do. "There go pretty much all of my academic worries! How did I not think of that?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Okay, well, that was her exit strategy. Just replace 'her team' with 'the population of Los Angeles.' And his understanding of the danger with a teenager's naive belief in their own immortality. She was fast and she had Regenerator. With those two factors, what could take her down?

"Winning's like an exit strategy, isn't it?" Kathy asked.