Baltimore, Sunday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

It had been another bad day. The worst part was, there had been nothing that had made it a bad day. It wasn't like there was rhyme or reason for it, but for some reason as the sun went down and the lights came on over the water, Kathy been struck anew by grief, her breath thick in her throat, her eyes burning with tears. Maybe the lights had reminded her of LA. Or maybe they'd reminded her of happier, easier times, when everything was good. More than good. Perfect. She'd known what she was doing and why--everything had made sense. She'd had a plan and every step she'd taken had moved her closer to her goals.

Now she had no plan, no goals other than 'make it through the day.' Some days, she felt good, like she was making progress, uncovering bits and pieces of herself that she'd thought she'd lost, trying to fit them into the person she was now like shards of a broken mirror. Other days, like today, she felt like she was drowning and every breath was a struggle around the thick weight of grief and regret and pain that sat on her chest like a creature out of myth. Most days were somewhere in-between, an odd muted gray as she fumbled her way, uncertain whether she was moving forward or backwards or even off to the side.

Like she did so many nights, she made her way to Baltimore. This time, she found herself on a rooftop somewhere, staring down at the city. She didn't think she'd even stood on this particular building as Banzai before, but still the vantage point and the angles were so familiar that the ache she felt sharpened to the point of true pain. But the tears stayed where they were, locked away, and instead she just sat, staring at the city, at the life, she'd once called hers and waited for it to pass.

It would pass, right?



[For one and up early for SP]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Drinks," Dante said. "Definitely drinks."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Maybe we'll get drunk faster on an empty stomach," Kathy said. "And only have to be a thousandaire to pay for our tabs."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Let's get down there and find out," Dante said. He paused, tilted his head. "... Which direction is it?"

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Kathy glanced around again, looking for landmarks. She knew Baltimore so much better by aerial view than down on the ground. "That way," she said, pointing to their left. "See the building with that giant, like, weathervane on the roof? It's two streets over from that one."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Right," Dante said.

He looked at her again. "You mind if I carry you? I wanna try something."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy shrugged, curious about what it is he wanted to try. "Piggyback or princess-carry?"

If he said fireman, she was sticking to bouncing.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante considered it. "Princess," he said.

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"Sure, okay," Kathy said, standing in front of him so he could scoop her up. "What are you trying to do?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Taking the fast way there," Dante said, sliding his arms around her and scooping her up. "Here we go..."

He took a running start, then jumped, channeling energy into his shoulders.

The glide still worked without his arms involved, and he passed easily over the gap between one building and the one on the other side of the street, landing on the rooftop with both feet.

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Kathy squealed, not in fear but delight, leaning in his arms to watch them cross the impossible distance. She was laughing when they landed, clapping in glee. "I see you've decided to give even fewer fucks about gravity in the interim," she mock-chided. "Won't be tied down by anything, huh?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"That's me," Dante said merrily. "Can probably cover even more distance if you get on my back, actually."

Though he was taking another running jump now, to the next roof.

[spin_kick_snap]

"How?" she demanded, looping one arm loosely around his neck and raising her face to the wind. It caught at her hair; she was going to look ridiculous when they finally landed and she wouldn't even care. This was better than 'just' feeling alive. This almost felt like being free.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Got a grappling hook now," Dante said.

Then his feet came down on the next rooftop. "I can cover some real ground."

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"You got a grappling hook?" Kathy sputtered, then burst out laughing. "Oh god, you're no longer the world's prettiest scabbard, you've become the world's prettiest weapons locker!"

That wasn't stopping her from scrambling down to hop up onto his back. This, she needed to see.

[rebelseekspizza]

"And you haven't even seen the axe or the scythe yet," Dante said, snickering. He waited until she was situated before he started moving again, picking out a tall building with lots of concrete to head to next.

Rebellion manifested in his hands as he ran... and then leaped, casting out the grappling hook with a thought. It lodged itself into a thick slab of concrete, and he pulled himself forward.

For a long stretch of a second, it almost felt like horizontal freefall. Then he reached the apex of the arc of the hook, released it, and let his powers take them into a glide.

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're better than a ride at Disney!" Kathy cheered, her legs clamped tightly around his waist so her hands were free to wave in the air. "If I had this, I'd never walk anywhere again!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"You can't fly everywhere," Dante reminded her, but the statement was probably lost as his feet landed neatly on the edge of the fencing along the next roof, just far enough in that he didn't even wobble.

He took a step, feet coming down nice and steady on the roof itself.

[spin_kick_snap]

"And he nails the dismount!" Kathy announced. "Even the Korean judge in impressed, giving him a 9.2 with points docked for not following the proper landing pose."

[rebelseekspizza]

"And what's the proper landing pose, huh?" Dante said, grinning.

To his almost-disappointment, they were just two more buildings away from the bar.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy's too. She was having a lot of fun on this flying tour of Baltimore.

"Arms up, back arched, head back, legs together," she told him. "The ultimate in 'Ta-Da!' poses. You don't know how many times we had to practice that pose in gymnastics, cause you will lose points if it's anything but flawless."

[rebelseekspizza]

See, things were easier when they didn't fixate on Fixing the Thing.

"Not gonna happen with you on my back," Dante said, snickering. "So you wanna do another one or see the new weapons?"

He didn't make the dirty joke that would've fit there easy.

[spin_kick_snap]

Yeah, yeah. She was realizing that.

"Can your new ones get us to the other roof?" she asked, missing the dirty joke potential entirely in favor of their current adrenaline rush. "Otherwise, I say get us over there with your grappling hook and then show me what else you got."

Okay, that one she noticed. But also decided not to push her luck.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante laughed. "Nah," he said. "Okay, hold on--"

He took another running leap, snagging a traffic light down below with the hook. Hurtled across the chasm again, and stretched the flight until they landed on the far end of the next roof.

[spin_kick_snap]

"That is so awesome," Kathy said, sliding off his back now that they'd landed on the last roof. Her legs were trembling from the adrenaline and she stumbled a bit before catching her balance. "Man, why don't I have a magic grappling hook?"

Zombies got the lamest powers.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Get you a normal one for your birthday?" Dante offered easily.

It felt like a genuine thing to say. Which normally wouldn't matter, and yet.