spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Lovely)
The lack of private function space was perfectly solved by the empty apartment above the diner. Kathy had spent the afternoon cleaning and setting up for dinner tonight. Her anniversary dinner, if you would.

A year ago today, she'd woken up in Eliot's house, surrounded by tight, worried faces. Her friends, pretty much en masse, had gone through a portal to LA and fought through hordes of exes to bring her home, in hopes that Nanika could bring her back to life. Or maybe just so she'd stop chanting Kathy's name. For whatever reason they'd done it, though, they'd succeeded. Kathy was alive again and had been for a full year.

A dizzying, challenging, terrifying year.

It seemed only right to hold some kind of commemorative dinner for it, somewhere between a celebration (which she still didn't think she'd earned, exactly) and an appreciation dinner. Not just for what they'd done, but for sticking with her this past year, for weathering the ups and downs, for reaching out and checking in, for reconnecting and promising to be better and stronger friends from here forward.

And, well, even if that didn't all come through, it would still be a delicious dinner cooked by Eliot and would give her a chance to just spend some time with the people she loved best, getting caught up with those she hadn't seen in awhile and offering an opportunity for them to get to know one another better, too.

If nothing else, they could all just stuff themselves silly with whatever delicious things the kitchen downstairs had whipped up and the super, extra, very chocolatey desserts Kathy had promised Alluka in her invitation.

[For those invited and up early for SP. No OCD, feel free to just ping in and around.]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Eating: Chips)
Raven and Kathy were officially moved in!

Okay, not everything was done and most of their stuff was still at Eliot's, but they'd gotten a lot of work done painting and assembling furniture and most of what was left could be moved over a bit at a time. Which meant...it was close enough to being fully moved in that a small party was warranted. Especially if you were looking for a way to show you were nice, sane and adjusted a reason to party!

The party proper started at 6pm with plenty of delicious foods to enjoy, but people were more than welcome to come over early and help with the remaining wall painting and furniture assembling there was to do. Help was appreciated, but mostly people were invited to over to eat, relax, and help make this new place feel like a real home.

[If you think you got an invite, you did! Up early for mega SP]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Surprised)
Kathy and Raven had a new apartment in need of decoration and furnishing and they also had a lot of things to not think about and/or work their way through, depending on how they were feeling at the time. Conveniently enough, both of those things worked with the other. Kathy had spent her sleepless hours the night before making lists, flipping through magazines for inspiration (seriously, how many Williams-Sonoma catalogues did you need Eliot?!), and doodling layouts to try to figure our furniture arrangements. Then, once it had gotten bright enough outside that it wouldn't be weird to be up and about, Kathy had put together a trip to the Isle of Ikea. Because what could be better than combining a caffeine buzz, a ridiculously generous budget, and four teenage girls?

You were welcome, Ikea employees!

"So we need pretty much everything," Kathy said, as they landed on the shores of the isle. "Two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and our bedrooms. Pretty much the sky's...the..." She trailed off, looking at the building in front of them. She'd known the whole island was devoted to the store, but she hadn't really thought about how big that store would be. "And this looks like it has everything," she added. "Okay then."

[For those invited, and I have no idea whether the Isle has squirrels or not! Also open for phone calls]
spin_kick_snap: (Contortionist: Spangles 02)
The drumbeat of the dead echoed across the lot like a relentless overseer on an ancient slave ship. Gorgon's confident smirk faded and even Stealth seemed shaken.

Below them, the exes parted to let the trucks drive up. Over a dozen of them, all spray-painted with different shades of green. Seventeens rode on the roof and hung out the windows. At the head of the parade, Rodney Cesares rode in the back of a National Guard truck decorated with skulls and a large neon-green 17 on the hood. They whooped and hollered and fired their guns into the sky.

And it continues... )

[NFI, NFB, OOC welcome. Preplayed by the masterful crew represented here, [livejournal.com profile] whoisalicewhite, [livejournal.com profile] tigerundercover/[livejournal.com profile] vdistinctive, [livejournal.com profile] rebelseekspizza, [livejournal.com profile] not_every_mage, and [livejournal.com profile] soniaroadsqueen. Bits of text adapted from Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. Last of the posts for the day, though check out the comments for the last bit. Warning for NPC death]
spin_kick_snap: (Contortionist: Flips)
Stealth crouched on the arch about the Melrose gate with Gorgon, St. George, and the visitors. The other heroes had been dispatched to the other gates she'd marked as vulnerable on her map, but Zzzap was flying recon and they were backed up by almost fifty more of the Mount's guards. They were the most vulnerable gate, to be sure, with Gorgon standing up front as bait for Cesares, but she had estimated the capabilities of the assembled people would be more than capable of repelling an attack, even if Zzzap was not able to return to aid them.

The exes had always been thick here, but now they grew denser by the moment. They packed the space in front of the gate and pushed back into the streets. Hordes of them staggered down Melrose and up Windsor. The guards walked the walls and stared down at the hungry mob. Some of them manned scaffolding towers. The dead pounded and clawed at the stucco. Another fourteen gate guards rammed pikes and spears between the bars of the gate. The dead stiffened at their skulls cracked and their brains were shredded. Then the humans pulled their weapons free, stepped back, and then lunged at the gate again even as more exes staggered forward.

"When do you want us to start sweeping?" one of the men asked, his rifle tucked against his shoulder.

"This is not the attack," shouted Stealth. "Just a massing of forces. Conserve your ammunition for now. Pikes only!"

Another wave of crushed skulls echoed up to her.

Everything about this is fine. )

***


Zzzap flew through the air, lighting up the dark sky, and came to a hover above the arch where they were watching the crowd of exes grow. Something big and scaly at Van Ness. Thought you'd want to know, he said in his crackling, electronic voice.

"Damn it," St. George said, scanning the street. "How'd he get by us?" He looked at Stealth. "You all good here?"

"Go," she said. "And take Dante with you. Cairax Murrain cannot be allowed to breach the gate."

The big hero nodded and took off, with Dante close behind. "Demon's at Van Ness," said Gorgon as he watched them leave. "Not the best way for us to start, with you being wrong right at the top."

"Thank you for pointing that out," she said. Her cloak draped across her shoulders and down over the edge of the archway. "Can you see any further than four blocks under these conditions?"

Gorgon looked around. "Not really." Hid hand went to his mic. "All gates, let's get some flares up." Across the Mount, small comets shot into the sky and burst into stars. They could see for blocks now as red and yellow light bathed the surrounding neighborhood. Melrose was visible for a quarter mile past either end of the walls.

The walking dead kept coming. More and more, until the pavement vanished under a carpet of death. Thirty thousand dead eyes stared at them, and thirty thousand brittle hands clawed at the air. The exes pounded the walls, pushed at the steel fences, and rammed their arms between the gate's curling decorations. In the distance, they could hear engines roaring and horns blasting. The Seventeens were near.

Gorgon rolled his head in a circle until his neck popped. "Still feeling confident?"

"We are prepared," said Stealth. "We know their capabilities. It will be a challenge, but we are ready for whatever they have fight to fight us with."

And then the lights went out.

Again, everything is just great! )
spin_kick_snap: (Zombie 02 (Forlorn))
After Gorgon had hauled Josh away, Stealth had given the Fandom contingent very strict orders to stay put. The Mount was already a powder keg, the last thing it needed was an errant match in the form of a stranger that no one had seen enter and certainly didn't look like they'd spent the past nine months eking out a bare survival. Especially if any one of those strangers decided to mention the little bombshell Josh had dropped on them earlier.

Less than an hour had passed before Gorgon came to collect them, bringing them upstairs to Stealth's office. A meeting was still in progress, with a blueprint of the map hung up on the wall and the other superheroes clustered around it, Zzzap remaining a slight distance away to avoid charring paper or blistering flesh. "--walls are still secure, the fences are all reinforced, so the most likely attack points will be the Melrose Gate, Bronson, and North Gower."

"What about Van Ness or Marathon?" St. George asked.

"Too far east and north for a major assault," she said. "We can leave regular guard units there. If the Seventeens have done any reconnaissance of their own, they will know Marathon is sealed." She glanced up at Gorgon and nodded sharply to the chairs surrounding the large table. He gestured for their guests to sit.

"Bronson's sealed, too," Cerberus, the large mecha suit, pointed out.

"Sealed to regular exes. If they are being guided by Cesares, we must assume they will be smarter and more resourceful. It is the next closest gate after Melrose, the fence is low, and it is a very tempting target."

"I'd still like to see extra people at Van Ness," Gorgon said, slouching against a wall now that his tour guide duty was done.

"We're starting to run low on capable and trained people," Stealth said, her mask not facing him or any other hero, but the group at the table. "But it's possible that we have the means to make up the difference."

Jumping the gun a bit, eh Stealth? )

[NFI, NFB, OOC is love. Preplayed by [livejournal.com profile] whoisalicewhite, [livejournal.com profile] tigerundercover/[livejournal.com profile] vdistinctive, [livejournal.com profile] rebelseekspizza, [livejournal.com profile] not_every_mage, and [livejournal.com profile] soniaroadsqueen, all of whom I owe drinks to at this point. Bits of text adapted from Chapter Twenty-Four of Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines, ]
spin_kick_snap: (Zombie 02 (Forlorn))
Josh Garcetti checked on his latest patient, an appendicitis case. She'd come in on her own, he'd pulled out the offending organ, and now she was asleep. Her stitches were clean and tight, no seepage at all. He tried not to dwell on the fact that at one time, he could have repaired her without a single incision. Of course, lots of things had been different back then. The world had been alive, for one. So had Midknight and Cairax and Blockbuster and Banzai.

So had Meredith.

He made a few quick marks on her chart, then stepped out into the nurses' station and made another set of notes on the night log. Then he turned to the cabinets and found himself inches from Stealth. He stumbled back and the move yanked his withered hand out of its pocket. "Jesus," he snapped. "Do you have to pop out of nowhere like that?"

The cloaked woman said nothing.

Footsteps made him turn and St. George stepped in from the hallway. He was bare-chested and covered in bruises. "George," Josh said with a nod. "What happened to you? What the hell's going on?"

But George wasn't alone. Zzzap was with him, and Cerberus, and Gorgon, too, which was weird because Gorgon never came to see him. He suffered Josh's company only on Stealth's most stringent orders. And there were others as well, strangers. Or so he thought at first glance. But the two younger guys seemed familiar in a way that nagged at his memory and in the center of the group-- "Mystique?" he asked. "I thought you'd left to go find help after Banzai died."

"After you let her die," Gorgon spat. "While you were napping because you put her at the end of the fucking line and made her wait for hours."

Now he recognized the young men. They'd come to fetch Banzai home, back in the early days. She had refused and they'd fought and he'd left early, unable to take Nick's blatant jealousy and Max's smug amusement and his own guilt. "What are you all--" but Stealth interrupted him.

"When we were discussing the progression of the disease," she said, "you said you have had the virus hanging over you for almost a year. You were bitten eight months and six days ago."

He blinked twice, then a third time. "That all? Feels a hell of a lot longer. Sorry I don't have a computer-like mind like you." He shrugged and re-pocketed his dead hand. "Is that everything? Mr. Willis would love to get a few Vicodin so he can sleep."

Her feet shifted and she was between Josh and the cabinet. He sighed and pointed at a row of bottles. "Do you mind?"

"The first definite sighting of an ex-human," she continued, "was ten months ago. On March 9th, an unidentified woman assaulted a group of Seventeens in a parking lot. The attack which infected Rodney Cesares."

Josh shrugged again, but his eyes flitted between the two heroes and then back towards the tiny group of strangers. St. George realized his hands rolled themselves into fists.

Stealth still hadn't moved. She was tense but fluid. She was confident. "Your wife died almost a year ago, didn't she, Regenerator? Eleven months ago yesterday."

The doctor's glare shot past her, past Gorgon's stricken face and Zzzap's staticky buzz of shock. It landed on the three familiar faces in the crowd and he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

A little late for apologies )

[Content warning for mentions of previous, off-camera suicide attempts and attempted execution of an NPC. NFI, NFB, OOC welcome. Preplayed by the masterful crew represented here, [livejournal.com profile] whoisalicewhite, [livejournal.com profile] tigerundercover/[livejournal.com profile] vdistinctive, [livejournal.com profile] rebelseekspizza, [livejournal.com profile] not_every_mage, and [livejournal.com profile] soniaroadsqueen. Bits of text adapted from Chapter Twenty-Four of Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (V-Sign 01)
After various attempts to get through, a video message made its way to the island and, from there, elsewhere in the multiverse. It had been sent to many people; students, teachers, townies, and alumni--pretty much anyone Kathy considered a friend.

Say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset )

[Preplayed with the AMAZING [livejournal.com profile] tigerundercover. If you think you got this, you absolutely did. NFB, though interaction between recipients is encouraged! The video is, however, one-way and any attempts to call will result in this message. Trigger warning for fatal illness.]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Hurt/Upset)
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!]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Fond Smile)
After class, Kathy and Anders has decided to head up to her dorm and hang out for awhile. There were a number of movies that Kathy needed to show him before she left for college to get him caught up on her random pop cultural references.

Today, Kathy was thinking about showing him Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was both a classic and the humor was absurdist enough (and not wholly dependent on culture) that hopefully it would translate.

And, hey, if they happened to get some quality snuggling in during the film, so much the better, huh?

The best laid plots of mice and men... )

[Preplayed with the wonderful [livejournal.com profile] soniaroadsqueen, [livejournal.com profile] not_every_mage, and [livejournal.com profile] rhymeswithtable, and awesomely coded up by [livejournal.com profile] that_oldsaying. Happens after this and at roughly the same time as this.]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Smile: Up To No Good (Mischief))
Kathy was hunched over her computer, muttering to herself. "Raven, what the hell? Don't wander off! No, get back--Dante, how do you have dysentery? Again?! No, I am not stopping this car, there are too many--Dammit, Ringo, how did you break your arm?! Were you AT-ing during the zom--DANTE YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE, YOU JERK! Anders, you're a goddamn magic-user, heal somebody! OH MY GOD, DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND AND DRIVE BACK TO THE NUKES, SO HELP ME!" A moment of quiet and then, "Hey! Somebody stole my last battery!"

Someone had discovered Organ Trail on Facebook. And had foolishly decided to play using the names of her friends. And had nearly decided to give up on this carful of people and try again. Surely Kira and Ezra would be more sensible during the zombie apocalypse.

"Raven! I said not to wander off! Great! Now you're dead and I have to start over!" Kathy didn't believe in leaving anyone behind. Even in the pixelated apocalypse.

[Open! Link to the conversation with Dante]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Tongue)
Kathy adored Christmas, a fact that likely surprised no one on the island. She also really, really enjoyed getting ready for Christmas--the baking, the decorating, the shopping, even the wrapping. This year, she'd pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to hunt down a real live tree small enough to bring back to the dorms and put up. She'd never had a real tree before; her mother not a fan of the idea of needles falling on the carpet and her father declaring that the pine smell made him sneeze. But this year, in her room, she was going to have a real tree, even if it was only about as tall as she was and almost as thin.

...In retrospect, she probably should have asked Raven if it were okay for her to get a tree, but she'd seen it while out Christmas shopping and had been too excited by the idea of having a real tree that she'd just splurged.

If having a tree wasn't exciting enough, there had been a large package waiting for her in the lobby; a present wrapped specifically in birthday-themed paper (with Do not open till Tuesday, nerd! scrawled in black sharpie on the side). She knew she's have an extra present or two under the plastic tree back home from her parents as a nod to her birthday, but Sarah always made it a point to keep Kathy's birthday and Christmas presents separate. She had the best little sister, she really did.

So now, tree safely ensconced in their room (and lugging a tree across the island and up five flights of stairs had been a workout, she'd earned this damn tree), Kathy was blaring Christmas carols, singing along while she strung up lights and other decorations around the room. Her gift was still on the bed, next to a small pile of presents she'd bought and wrapped for her friends. Those would be going under the tree as soon as she finished decorating that.

Yeah, it was final's week, with random mistletoe flying about and no chance for snow for her last Christmas on the East Coast, but none of that mattered now. It was still Christmas.
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Lounge)
Today had been declared a lazy day. Kathy didn't have them often, but even she needed some downtime occasionally. Other than going to take a shower--after which she'd changed right back into a pair of pajamas--she hadn't left the room. Right now she was sprawled across her bed watching Netflix on her laptop because going all the way to the common room was just too far. Eventually she'd end up getting hungry enough that snacks would no longer suffice and she'd have to figure out a food plan, which would probably involve pants, ugh, but she was determined to get as much lounging in as possible before that.

Overall, this was a pretty good day. Maybe she should be lazy more often.

[Open]
spin_kick_snap: Kang Min Kyung as Kathy/Banzai (Backwards Smile Post-Workout)
So the Ukrainian mafia was still attempting to make inroads into Baltimore's criminal underground, but the police had finally started paying attention to Kathy's anonymous tips (seriously, what was the tipline even for if they were going to ignore it?) and had made several arrests the night before, catching a shipment of drugs in from the harbor. Kathy knew better than to think that that would be the end of it, but hopefully it would be enough to make them keep their heads down for a night or two.

Just to be safe, she'd still done an hour or so of patrols as Banzai before calling Ringo to arrange a meetup so they could practice their ATs on proper buildings. As Lottie would say, she was WELL EXCITED to do this. The three prospective neighborhoods she'd scoped out were all low-crime areas, mostly because there were very few people around. That didn't mean they wouldn't accidentally run into a few homeless people or a huddle of drug addicts, all looking for a place to crash without being bothered, but it cut down on the likelihood of running into anything worse.

Picking up her duffle bag from the rooftop she'd stashed it on, Kathy traded her Banzai gear for her workout clothes and started running towards their agreed-upon meetup spot. She'd strap on her ATs there, but figured she'd be better off sticking to running while she was still downtown.

Besides, there was something exhilarating at running full-speed over rooftops at night.

[Expecting one, but I guess it could be open if you have reason to be around Baltimore at night?]

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