SUPER BARBECUE SUPER BARBECUE SUPER BARBECUE [open as heck]

[hugling]

Who: SUPER HEROES!!!!!
Where: Ernest E. Debs Regional Park!
When: Sunday!
What: SUPER BARBECUE
Warnings: Superheroes...



It's a pleasant evening at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park, just a couple miles from downtown LA, which can be seen through the haze. Late March means spring is just arriving in LA and the trees are just starting to bud. Unfortunately, the grass is still kind of dead and dry.

The barbecue and picnic area isn't too busy, though the park does have the usual assortment of joggers, dog walkers, and cyclists. There are some balloons tied to picnic tables, and strung between two trees is a very homemade "SUPER BBQ" banner, courtesy of Hulkling and Starbreaker. There's still glitter glue on Milly's apartment floor. There's another posterboard with the rules written on it in big bold sharpie letters nearby, just in case anyone forgets:

• Don't be a jerk!!!
• Keep your weapons holstered please.
• Do not trash the park!
• ABSOLUTELY NO FIGHTING
• Anyone caught fighting will be asked to leave!
• Really don't be a jerk!

[OKAY GUYS!!! mingle! have fun! maybe some THINGS WILL HAPPEN, whoooo knows!]

Comments

[thanksoptimus]

He's quiet for a few moments, averting his eyes briefly as she approaches. When he looks to her, his expression is determined.

"Perhaps I should be asking you the same question," he says. "I have done not much of use since arriving here, and while I have no intention of fighting...I accomplish nothing while choosing not to act."

[thanksoptimus]

"I have found myself more troubled by the state of this war than anything else," he says, after a moment. "Both sides have my sympathies, in their way. I would expect that sounds as objectionable to you as it has the others."

[bigfuckinggun]

"If I truly believed I could trust in such a proclamation," Megatron replies, his scornful sneer slightly less effective without the ridiculous metal fangs; "if I could be sure it was not a trap. Perhaps."

Of course, the difference it would actually make is that it would make a great opportunity to lure the Autobots into his own trap and annihilate them all, but, well, you know,

[starscheme]

Yes, it does, but it's not something that he's going to take as personally as Megatron did, plus putting up a stink about it would ruin the angle he's going for here, so he just frowns and nods shakes his head solemnly.

"Not at all... There's always understandable motivations on either side of a conflict, no matter the cause. That's what keeps the fight going, more often than not." He sighs, looking wistful. "That's something that I have tried to convince Megatron of, in the past. To no avail, generally."

[thanksoptimus]

Orion's face falls. He's not sure what it would take to prove this to Megatron, or to the Autobots. He wasn't built to be a negotiator any more than he had been built to be a warrior.

"If it was Optimus Prime who led them astray...their leader is gone. They need not be your enemy."

[hellacold]

Look, Jon has tried to be reasonable in the face of Finnick's increasingly pointed questions. He has even tried to be nice. Maybe he hasn't gone out of his way to be friendly to Finnick, but he's pretty sure he doesn't deserve this treatment. He frowns.

"Are you?"

[crotcharrow]

Tommy is hanging around the picnic table, looking squirrelly. He's extremely torn about being here in the first place--there are so many people here who could arrest him--but the prospect of home cooked, not stolen or cold from a packet food is too hard to pass up. He's dressed in a tight fitting green cycle shirt, and long legged cycle pants, combined with a bright green backpack and goggles for running. He'd normally stick out like a sore thumb, but he's not even the most outrageously dressed here.

He's keeping an eye on things though, making sure Matilda doesn't talk to anyone she shouldn't or Aña doesn't get herself into trouble (since she's the one who dragged him here) and just helps himself to copious amounts of food. Probably more than is humanly possible for a guy that skinny to put away.

[crotcharrow]

After eating his fill and making sure nobody is going to arrest him, Tommy starts mingling. He lost Aña and Matilda pretty early on, thanks to his insistence to stay vigilant, but he's finally having a chance to let his guard down a little. So of course he makes a beeline for Matilda first when he spots her in the cute outfit that Aña had made her.

Tommy creeps up behind her, and ruffles her hair--something that's become a familiar greeting for the both of them.

"Hey squirt. You look awesome."

[hugling]

Hey, Teddy recognizes that guy. Even with the goggles, it's pretty obviously that street kid who wanted the pastries out of the dumpster. The hair alone is pretty recognizable, even without that guy's apparently permanent scowl. But Teddy can't just say something, even if the kid is eating all the hot dogs. And the cookies. And the chips. And the soda. Is he even a real superhero? Whatever, Teddy has to unload a fresh batch of burgers on the food table anyway.

"Hey, sorry, I just need to set these down."

Probably they'll be gone before he gets back to the grill.

[crotcharrow]

Teddy catches Tommy with his mouthful, and he has the decency to look a little guilty as he swipes his arm across his lips to clear them of crumbs. But his eyes sort of light up at the burgers--like everything he'd eaten had been meaningless up until this point--and swallows his mouthful.

"Uh, thanks. This stuff is really good."

[hugling]

"Uh huh."

Teddy takes his time setting the plate down and arranging the packages of buns and the condiment bottles just so before he steps back from the table.

"So... what's your name?" And what's his power? Pocket dimension stomach?

[crotcharrow]

Tommy watches this display with curiosity, and then pokes the ketchup bottle just a little out of where Teddy had arranged it. Just to be contrary. This guy is the one who set up the whole thing, right? The idiot Aña seems to like. Once his sabotaging is done, he looks up at Teddy with a grin.

"Speed. What's yours?"

[thanksoptimus]

Orion falls for that with total, blissful ignorance. He's inclined to take Starscream's word for that, and think that maybe not all of them are as determined as Megatron.

"There must be some way of changing his path," Orion says wearily, staring out across the field.

[hugling]

Teddy takes a sip of his soda, and shrugs.

"Yeah, pretty much. But the space travel stuff was pretty awesome, actually. I always wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid - who didn't, right? - so it was pretty cool. Even the space food was like, surprisingly good, for rehydrated stuff in bags."

Teddy is clearly very excited about space and trying to play it very cool.

[neonmonstrosity]

Did someone mention outrageous clothes?

Chris is having a grand time, (the three beers he's had already may be helping with that,) as he meanders over to the table in search of something starchy. He's distracted by the amount of food this dude is putting away in one go and kinda just... Observes for a moment before he actually says anything.

"Alright?" He's smiling, but also looking pretty astounded as he nods to the table in a 'holy shit how are you not exploding' kind of way.

[starscheme]

"Perhaps... if there is, it has not made itself clear to me in the past several thousand years. You know him; he's notoriously stubborn." He sighs dramatically, looking off in the same direction. "Who knows though... perhaps, between the two of us, in the future a solution may become clear." He grants Orion a knowing smirk.

[makethatwork]

Clint isn't sure about all this either, but hey, food! Not-takeout food! So he gets there (in his actual uniform, not the ridiculous thing he wears for official photoshoots that they put on the merchandise) and immediately heads to the picnic table.

The kid in green seems to be the king of the food at the moment, so it makes sense to talk to him.

"Hey, is there any half-assed potato salad or anything I should stay away from?"

[cazamitad]

Oh, she doesn't miss that, considering her own suspicions everything won't stay friendly for too long. She grins. "Don't worry, she can take care of herself until Speed can zip her out of here, should anything go down."

That trail-off is telling, at least to Aña. She's used to things like the assumption of small children being her kids. She's Hispanic, that's just what they're like, right?

She doesn't take offense though - she did just bring up having brought a 6-year-old along, even if she's a little young to have a 6-year-old.

"Yeah, she's my sister," she says, because at least that way people will know not to mess with her. "She hasn't gotten to do anything fun like this in ages, so no way I was gonna make her stay home, you know?"

[squanderlust]

"I'll keep that under my hat," she says sincerely, "at least while we're in public." Given his extra precautions today, she feels she can trust him to do the same.

"You know, I'm yet to see you fight. Hopefully being raised among so many wasn't a detriment to your skills." And yes, she absolutely says it like a challenge.

[hellacold]

Jon raises his eyebrows and drinks his beer. It's hard to defend his upbringing without sounding obnoxious, even in jest.

"Hopefully it'll wait until we get back to base," he says.

[10thingsihateaboutme]

He sighs. "Okay, dude, but I'm just saying, if you're tailing me around you'd better be watching out for CONDOR guys, okay." Frowning a little, with a sort of uncertain concern he adds, "I told them you took off and you're less likely to cause a brain laser fuckstorm if they try to take you back in but I'm pretty sure they're still looking for you."

[bigfuckinggun]

"Really – is that what you believe? That their leader was the only one at fault; that without him, after so long, they will simply abandon ages-old feuds?"

[nitrodamus]

"Yeah, I know," he says with a frown, looking more upset than angry. "They probably want to catch me just so they can lock me up again." He kicks at the ground. "Fuck those guys."

[thanksoptimus]

"I believe there is a chance," he says. "The loss of such a long lived leader would be a time of upheaval for any army."

[crotcharrow]

Tommy stops shovelling quite as copiously when he notices that he has an audience, and finishes his hotdog in a few bites before swallowing everything down without as much a belch. He looks at Chris almost like he's interrupted him doing something far worse, and frowns. Here come the 'where the hell do you even put it' questions.

"Yup," it's said with a brief shrug as he lifts an arm to swipe the crumbs away from his mouth. "You?"