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

[deadpartners]

A superhero party seems like a decent place to keep up with her data-gathering activities, but ever since her run-in with Starscream -- and then Airachnid -- she's been keeping an eye out for holomatter avatars. There's an Alternian woman who sends up red flags in Arcee's scanners and nearby him she sees Magdal, Orion's friend -- it seems reasonable enough to assume for now that it's Orion's avatar.

Of course, his isn't the only one that comes up on her scanners. She directs her attention to the group of men hovering around the guy in the obscenely spiky costume, and -- she recognizes Starscream's avatar before she even has a chance to register that the big supervillainous looking one is most definitely Megatron. And the other two...they must be more Decepticons. Great.

So she waits to approach Orion until he's broken away from Magdal and looks to be on his own, more or less safely out of Starscream's avatar's line of sight. Arcee assumes he'd recognize her if he saw her again; she doesn't want to take that chance.

"Orion? Is that you?"

[thanksoptimus]

He jumps a little when she speaks to him - or, more accurate, he very suddenly straightens his back and comes to attention as soon as it becomes clear that he's being watched. Despite his initial reaction, though, it only takes a moment for him to calm down. Though he still looks troubled.

"Yes. I mean...hello. Yes." He blinks. "How did you know?"

He's a little worried he's been too careless in coming here.

[deadpartners]

"I didn't mean to startle you. Sorry." Arcee glances over in the direction Orion had come from, arms crossed over her chest -- less confrontational, more guarded. She knows they're not the only Cybertronians at this party, and even though her avatar's just a projection, she feels oddly exposed here. "I met your Alternian friend there the other day, and I've been keeping an eye out for other holomatter projections. Wasn't that hard to put two and two together."

She looks back at him, studying the unfamiliar face that she doesn't have much trouble recognizing all the same. Last time they'd met she'd given him a lot to think about, and she knows things can't have been easy for him. "How are you holding up?"

[thanksoptimus]

"Knowing how to use my holomatter avatar has made my time in the city considerable more enjoyable," he says, getting himself together enough to smile a little. He has her to thank for that, among other things. "It has also allowed me to gain some...perspective, in regards to Earth culture."

He glances over in Magdal's direction fondly.

"Magdal's companionship has been an enormous asset as well."

But besides the good news, inwardly speaking, seeing Megatron has done a lot to remind him how unresolved everything still is. His smile fades a little.

[deadpartners]

"She seems like a good friend." Arcee means that, too. She's a little suspicious of things on this planet, honestly, after what the last month has turned out like, but Magdal really seems like she means well. Like she cares. Arcee trusts her, to a point.

But it's hard not to notice the way his face almost falls. She steps in a little closer to his avatar, though her hands are resting reticently in her jeans pockets. "Is there anything I can do?"

[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."

[deadpartners]

Surprise shows clear on the avatar's face as she blinks back at him. She knows she'd gotten through to him somewhat last time they'd spoken -- that he'd seemed to really believe her, for the first time, but...

"No one's asking you to fight," she says softly, her lips twisting slightly. Her expression is somber as she steps in a little closer. She knows Rodimus would disagree -- that they need Orion in the fight -- but she'd meant what she'd said about not forcing his hand. It'd be a disservice to him. "Not that we couldn't use your help in any capacity you were willing, but...are you sure?"

[thanksoptimus]

He's quiet for a moment, considering that question seriously. It takes a moment for him to come up with an answer.
 
"...No," he says. "But I suspect there are some things we can never truly be certain about. And I know that you and the other listen to what I say...while Megatron will not."
 
It's hard to get used to, that. They were each other's sounding boards for so long, the way that his words barely make a mark on Megatron now...it's all too much. It's useless.

[deadpartners]

Arcee's relieved, even if just a little. Maybe he hasn't figured out things for himself yet, but the fact that Orion wants to do something -- anything -- for the Autobot cause...that's something. It's a bittersweet victory, though, knowing that it comes at the expense of his trust in Megatron, something that had long corroded away for Optimus, but it's fresh and new for Orion, and Arcee knows that can't be easy.

"Of course, Orion. Of course we'll listen. Look, I don't want to ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but...I'd be lying if I said we couldn't use all the help we can get right now."

[thanksoptimus]

He nods, stepping a little closer to her. It still feels strange interacting with a form that isn't really his own, and it's more so when he realized that the woman he's speaking to is the same two wheeler he's spoken to so many times now.

"What would you have me do?" he asks.

[deadpartners]

"Whatever you're willing to." The avatar seems to shove her hands a little deeper into her pockets, shoulders slightly hunched as if poised to shrug it all off. She huddles a little closer to Orion's avatar, though, not all that eager for any unwanted ears overhearing this conversation. "There's plenty we could use help with that isn't fighting -- gathering information, maintenance, looking for resources...we're spread pretty thin right now."