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

[superball]

Eusine's -sorry, the Mysticalman's - contribution to this giant barbecue party is bread. Loads and loads of bread. Real bread he'd say, if anyone asked him, because he'll happily indulge the hon hon hon baguette eiffel tower stereotype if it means his sausages don't end up in one of those disgustingly sweet rolls.

Of course, it might be more convincing if his bread loaves weren't weirdly lumpy and slightly burnt on top. They kind of look like they were made by someone absolutely inept at cooking but who tried really hard, which is - surprise! - exactly what happened. They don't taste bad, at least, which is a pleasant surprise.

He's not just here for food though. He can be found pretty much all over the place, strutting around as if he were a human-shaped peacock. Someone starts a group activity? Yeah! Team sports? Yeah!! Imposing himself on people who obviously don't feel like being approached? YEAH!!!

[alienheroes]

Sometimes meeting as many people as possible means just running up to the first person who catches his eye, so it was pretty much inevitable that Ben would end up noticing the guy in all the purple and the cape before too long.

(He seems kind of familiar actually, but Ben shuts down that train of thought as soon as it comes to mind - he feels like intentionally figuring out someone else's secret identity must be breaching some kind of Superhero Code or something.)

He rushes up to the guy (he's kind of been rushing everywhere for the past couple minutes, this form is good for that), skidding to a stop on XLR8's weird foot-wheel-things. "Hey, what's up!"

[superball]

"Ah-!" Eusine startles a bit when he's suddenly approached by the weird... person (are their feet wheels???), dropping a few of the loaves he was carrying in the process.

Fortunately, he happens to be really good at regaining his composure quickly (some might say it's because he's used to making a fool of himself; there people are dirty liars and should not be trusted,) and his surprised face quickly turns into an excited grin.

"As you can see, I was just about to put this bread on the table!" He points to the bag at his feet. It does seem to be filled to the brim with lumpy brown things. Actually... "Perhaps you might consider assisting me?"

Less work for him, and he'd get to learn more about this fellow superhero. Seems like a win-win situation!

[alienheroes]

Well drat. Carrying bread to a table sounds menial and boring, but Ben's trying to make good impressions here and refusing wouldn't look good. Besides, he did kind of startle the guy into dropping it to begin with.

(Wow yeah his voice is really familiar but once again Ben refuses to actually consciously identify him. This guy's wearing a mask, clearly he doesn't want people figuring out who he is.)

"Sure." He picks up the bag, then does kind of a double-take at its contents. He moves to look closer with an almost birdlike jerk of his head, visor retracting to expose his face. "...This is bread?"

Nothing can shatter his efforts at politeness. Nothing except ugly bread, apparently. Ben has never had very good manners.

I'M NOT SAYING IT WAS ALIENS BUT. /GESTURES

[superball]

"That's right! It's nothing like the dreadful bread you find around here, isn't it?" Ben's expression completely flew over his head. Besides, who's to say aliens don't communicate enthusiasm by making disgusted-looking faces? Or well, he assumes he's an alien. A shapeshifter simply wouldn't be as exciting; still interesting, of course, but then he wouldn't be able to learn anything about alien culture and that's just criminal. Speaking of which...

"Ah, but you may not be familiar with this place's food either... Where are you from, if I may ask? I don't think I've seen you around before!"

To be fair he hasn't been in LA that long but... you know.

[alienheroes]

Ben is just about to correct him about the bread, but he's kind off caught of guard by his next question. Drat. He has no idea where XLR8 is from. Where his species is from. Whatever.

Clearly he has to come up with a clever lie here to cover his tracks.

"Well I'm from... space. My planet is really far away from here." Nailed it.

[superball]

"I see!" It pleases Eusine's ego to know that he totally hit the nail right on the head when he guessed that person was an alien. Not that pleasing his ego is hard, of course. "What is it like? Is your fauna and flora anything like ours?"

He has so many questions. Tell him everything, alien friend.

[alienheroes]

"Uh-" Ooooh no. Oh no. He has no idea what he's doing. For a couple seconds he just stands there with a look of alarm plastered on his face, looking like he may be trying to find an escape route.

In retrospect he maybe should have come up with a more in-depth cover story before going to an "in-costume" social event. Or... or maybe he didn't need to! He can keep it up, he can do this. Yes.

He forces away the terrified expression as if it were never there, trying to replace it with one of casual confidence, as if he actually knows that what he is saying is true, and is not pulling it off the top of his head.

"Well, there are some things in common - I mean, the trees have leaves and stuff. But, uh, the leaves are- they're blue instead of green. And there are these things that are like, uum... they're like birds but they have six legs." Totally nailing it- wait no not quite. "And they spit acid." Perfect.

[superball]

Fortunately for Ben, Eusine gobbles that story right up. Unfortunately for Ben, all it does is give Eusine more questions, and they run out of his mouth at the speed of an Olympic sprinter.

"Fascinating! Should I assume most life forms on your planet have eight legs? Is your species the only sentient one? What do these bird-like creatures spit acid for?"

Eusine pauses for a fraction of a second, finally realizing that he is dangerously coming close to sounding like a huge dweeb. Not that he doesn't want answers to these questions, of course, but there's no reason not to be smooth about it.

"Anyway-" he quickly adds, his already loud voice reaching critical levels, "I am the Mysticalman, expert on legendary creatures and wizard extraordinaire!"

He extends a hand.

"Please do allow me to welcome you with the Earth custom known as a handshake!"

[alienheroes]

Ben is struggling to come up with "answers" for Eusine's questions as fast as he can, but, mercifully, it looks like he may get some time to stall.

He doesn't comment on the "Earth custom known as a handshake" thing - sure, he's super new to this planet, let's go with that. He does, however, end up sort of waving his hand awkwardly in the air a few inches from Eusine's, as XLR8 doesn't really have hands so much as he has three knives stuck to the end of each arm and he's... not really sure how to grasp a human's hand with these without causing some kind of injury.

"Hey, wait, you're the Mysticalman?" Ben tilts his head, looking over Eusine again. "I've heard of you before." Once, from some stage magician in a comic book store.

He's not really sure how much longer he can keep denying how familiar this "wizard extraordinaire" is.

[superball]

Eusine was busy considering the logistics of shaking the hand of someone with blades for fingers when the last bit completely distracts him from his attempt at introducing XLR8 to the wonderful world of human greetings.

"You have?!" he exclaims, perhaps a bit too frantic for someone who is supposedly famous. Though to be fair, anyone would be excited to know an alien knows them. Unless said alien is an assassin hell-bent on murdering them, of course. But let's not think about that. "I mean- of course you have! After all, I'm the most promising hero of my generation. Journalists line up to get my interview!"

Well, he knows one journalist at least. Surely she'll want to interview him soon.

[alienheroes]

Ben almost points out the circumstances of his hearing of the Mysticalman, but catches himself just in time, because that would risk exposing his secret identity, wouldn't it?

Instead, he just replies, "You are?" He doesn't sound quite as incredulous as he maybe should, but he is sort of bewildered. He would think that he would have heard of this guy more in that case. He also doesn't question the bit about the journalists, because even if that were true, Ben wouldn't know it because newspapers are boring and he doesn't read them.

But the fact is, whether or not any of this is accurate - again, Ben needs to be making some connections here. "...hey, if you want to team up sometime, that could be cool!"