veryperceptive:

It's early in the morning, before even Michelle gets up, when GK carefully lets himself in. And it's Michelle he starts with, because if he starts with Zoe, she might, actually, pull a gun on him.

So she'll have the chance to hear it from the other room as he brings her Mom a candle-lit tray of food.
"Good morning! Happy Saint Lucy's Day. Now technically, the tradition is that the youngest of the family makes everybody breakfast in bed with saffron buns, but even if she's got two weeks on me there, I think we can all get behind the idea that Zoe should not bake."

veryperceptive:

In a step up from nagging state legislatures, Uncle Jed was going to testify before a U.S. Senate committee. This had become a Walker family trip. Walker family trips now included the Torres family. As much as he loved Mom and Grandma, it was a relief to get a bit of breathing space again, with the perfectly reasonable explanation of dinner with a fellow makeup artist. He'd talked to Pippi one or two times since they'd met in passing. The last had been right after his breakup, and when he'd mentioned he'd be in town, she seemed game for dinner. So here they were, in a nice restaurant,as he smiled appreciatively at Zoe for coming along, in the outfit he'd suggested. "I hear the food here is great. And it'll be a while without Grandma asking us if we've met any nice guys."

veryperceptive:

GK was up far too early. His apartment had been too quiet. It wasn't time to call Zoe about their trip plans this weekend, or go to his actual job. So he decided to put in some time alone at the other job. Sliver was in the Triangle, catching sight of a young lady in a dark corner whose brightest want at the moment was for what seemed about to happen to Not Happen.

And if GK thought about it too much, he'd get sick. Right over his sleek grey work clothes. So instead, he draws on a family story that had often managed to seem lighthearted against all odds.
"Gentlemen!" he calls to the two muggers -- Vipers, it looked like. Weird to see them preying at first light with just two of them -- as he hurries forward, the sword sliding out. "It would seem the lady desires to retain both her purse and her honor. You'll excuse me if I intrude?" Hey. He had the swordstick, the name, he should be able to pull off the line Mom told him about.

Trip.
Whack.
Parry

Unfortunately, the backup a couple of guys like this might be expected to be travelling with arrived while he was taking them down. The girl screamed as the guns were raised. He barely got her down as the shots started to ring out.

Zoe was at home, several blocks away. The police took forever to get to the Triangle even when they came.

He may have misjudged this one.

veryperceptive:

His apartment was impeccably neat again. No laundry on the floor. No constant risk of damage to the dollhouse. No piglet accidentally knocked places. No having to constantly check for the smell of alcohol.

GK was single again. And he knew it was better this way, that GK hadn't been able to help him and he was better off going home, but that didn't make it easier.

...the sound the flat of his blade made as it hit an assailant while he got the other with the stick-sheath made it just a little easier.

zoe_torres:

So...no sleep.

Zoe couldn't keep her brain from mulling over the old man hanging around the Triangle, or the preppy kid wandering in for no apparently /good/ reason, and it was not letting her sleep. The longer she couldn't sleep, the angrier she grew until she was out in the night looking for something.

Which would be the reason she was at GK's door. If he was with the boyfriend, oh well. No one ever said that being her friend was easy.

veryperceptive:

The turnovers at this diner were still delicious. Not, of course, Uncle Jed's level of deliciousness, but delicious. He and Zoe were, for once, actually talking about academics on one of their 'study sessions,' because, well, broad daylight. Less chance to break out the stick and whatever Zoe wanted to practice her markswomanship with.

cantkeepmeout:

Hub City, New York, and now Star City. Robin's out-of-Gotham tour continues. And he was making a considerable dent in the illegal arms market. While he'd dropped by Star City last month to deal with some of the arms trafficking, he was coming back now to wrap up some loose ends and check up on things. Luckily things were looking good and the detective portion of this night went smoothly. Robin swings through the streets looking to have a good end to this night.

Now just to wrap up some small fry. Nothing like a good old punch up.

veryperceptive:

Nothing wrong with New Jersey, GK figured. Mom had been born there and all. She didn't have the nicest things to say about Gotham, but that was mostly because of the way Aunt Judy died. But the Walker clan would never, ever say no to a child welfare charity function. So here they were. Uncle Jed even had some of his stuff up for auction, both from his Shots of Gotham collection and some African Safari stuff for reasons of Uncle Jed.

dc_holiday:

It was the season of joy and togetherness and this year faces that had been missing last year had returned. It was a time to celebrate and a time to enjoy the company of friends and loved ones. Decorations and lights gave the atmosphere a festive spirit and the Outsiders would come together to celebrate.

veryperceptive:

GK Walker had a list.

He went out on his Volunteer Work nights with the world's greatest pitcher/markswoman.
His beautiful disaster of a boyfriend had wings and a magic sword.
He once went on half a date with a charming transubstantiator hero brat.
His uncle knew this telepathic gorilla.

Can you say Citywide Vigilante Club, boys and girls?

Zoe was the place to start, of course.

"So," he said as they rendezvoused for the evening. "I have this idea."

veryperceptive:

GK came, in full makeup, to the Outsiders' headquarters with a piece of paper. It was for Red Robin, but he was happy to give it to anyone, really. He needed to deal with people outside of work and his immediate loved ones.

veryperceptive:

GK was nervous. They had of brushed against the subject before, but now...well, he didn't want to wait anymore. "So, Eli.... are you okay with getting lunch with Zoe?"

boosted_gold:

Sometimes having a girlfriend with such a mind-bashingly high IQ had it's downsides. Namely that Dinah was busy with some big-brain getting ready for college type thing, and Riley was on his own. Rip didn't have anything for him, yet, Petra and Avia were working, L-Nor (only he and Dinah get to call her that, by the way) was doing her corporate power-struggle getting ready to rule the world thing, and Mãe had a photo-shoot, so there was no-one to go on patrol with. Still, fly through enough cities, and you'll find someone in need of help sooner or later, right?

veryperceptive:

GK loved having Eli over. He admittedly spoiled the guy a bit, what with the cooking and the massages and certain other things. And he tried not to seem too neurotic about putting Piglet back whenever Eli accidentally knocked him over, or reaching to sort the laundry a little differently than Eli was doing it.

And it was a lovely time, but eventually. "Eli? We need to talk."

zoe_torres:

Zoe dropped down in a space next to GK on the roof. "What would you say if somebody offered you something you really wanted and all you had to do in return was a job here and there and it paid pretty good?"

collateralmagic:

All in all, Alina is pretty fond of the desert. It’s local, beautiful, and full of large empty spaces where she can sling her spells about without worrying that something terrible is going to happen. She favors a particular bluff that’s hard to get to if you can’t fly and gives her a good view of the surrounding area – the last thing she wants is to accidentally turn a wandering idiot into some kind of crazy monster. Today though, she’s not out here to practice. She’s out here to try an experiment.

After the whole “Blackest Night: Redux” thing, Jaime Reyes had settled himself back into his life, albeit without the scarab and the super-powers. He hadn’t given up the good fight or anything, he’d made sure she knew that, but he wasn’t going to try and pull Khaji Da off of Dinah either. And really, Alina’s just glad that he’s not dead and putting his life back together. That’s not what she’s doing out here. What she’s doing is trying to find Black Beetle. Just because Jaime’s not dead anymore doesn’t mean that Alina’s going to let Black Beetle get away with murder.

( Continued... )

veryperceptive:

"Yes, Ma'am, Ms. Torres. I will put her on the phone as soon as she finishes eating. Pain perdu, Ma'am. Cage-free eggs, real butter, and with a touch of cinnamon. Did you two go see the cliffs? Awesome tides, right? Okay, yes, Ma'am, here she is." GK handed her Zoe the phone as he served his own plate.

dc_holiday:

"A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be." -- Unknown

veryperceptive:

GK came up the steps from his tiny basement apartment into the little yardspace behind. He was in his workout clothes and carrying his stick. Sometimes, a guy just needed to run through his fencing forms, and there certainly wasn't enough room inside.
He unsheathed the sword from the stick and was just about ready to start when he looked up at the tree and froze.

zoe_torres:

A brown paper package was just inside the door on a side table when Zoe returned home after an afternoon at the Star City library researching old newspaper archives. It bore her name and address, but no return address and no postage stamps.

Michelle wasn't home from the office yet, so she had no audience to ask her what it was or who had sent it. Suspicious nature taking over, Zoe hid it under her bed and ignored it until late that night. She carried it up to the roof and carefully opened it under the tiny beam of a penlight.

Inside she found a locked leather case. A plain white envelope contained a key on a chain. If this was Angie's idea of giving her more guns, it was too public. Zoe's condition was that none of the Suicide Squad dealings ever touch her mother or her home life. She didn't think Angela was so careless when she could have called Zoe to her office for a delivery.

All thought was gone when she opened the case and found a pair of wrist mounted guns. With the new weapons were boxes of ammo. Even in the low light, she could tell they were not an off-the-rack item. They were sized to fit her and she had an idea they would feel natural in her hands. Someone had gone to the trouble of arming her with a specially made item of the sort she wouldn't have thought to ask for, and provided ammunition to use them right away.

She'd talk to Angela about it tomorrow. Maybe.

dc_holiday:

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest. ~Irish Proverb

veryperceptive:

His 18th Birthday. A pretty big deal. And GK was cheerfully wrapping presents, taking a cue from Hobbit culture like a rich, pampered, and geeky boy logically might as well do.

He'd already made sure presents would be waiting for his family when they got back from Switzerland. In the meantime, he had something for Zoe, her Mom, the gang at work, the Outsiders -- to be delivered in costume -- and, last but not least, Eli.

Once the ones for work were dropped off, he headed for the triangle with two packages. On the way, he checked the mail.

There was a card. He blinked in shock to see that the postmark was from England, the return address from the Holdaways' firm. Did they actually give a damn all of a sudden?
And then he read it, and he was barely past the 'Dear Gilbert, Congratulations on your 18th birthday' when he statrted grinding his teeth.

It should have taken more effort to read between the lines. They should have put more effort into looking like, after all this time, they were into something more than getting Grandma's account back. He guessed to people like that, eighteen years and nine months was just a little blip in in a nearly three-century business deal.

He folded the card and shoved it in his pocket as he headed to Zoe's. Very quickly, since he wasn't bringing his stick.

zoe_torres:

Zoe crouched in a shadow, watching a body climb out of a window onto a fire escape. Fire escapes out to be outlawed, she thought. What good were they to anybody minding their own business? They were practically welcome mats to thugs looking for a place to rob.

"Pay attention," she hissed at GK nearby. If she didn't know better, she'd think his mind was a million miles away and not on the job at hand. Maybe she /didn't/ know better. Last week he was moping over some guy and now he wasn't.

veryperceptive:

A decent, mild beef curry is sizzling on the stove while something chocolate bakes in the oven in GK's tiny basement kitchenette. Turning everything off for a bit, he looks over his clothes to make sure it's all nice and clean, and goes up the stairs to outside, looking for Eli to arrive, or call for better directions.

veryperceptive:

No work today. Zoe was busy, and no one worth hitting was out in the Triangle.

After a while of staring in the mirror and seeing Joey written across it, he knew he had to get out somewhere. And not to the Outsiders. Not unless he wanted to end up pleading about how he could make such a hot chick and not be of interest once he turned out to be a boy -- they were the same lips and same legs either way. And that would be humiliating for all parties.

So he'd made a day trip, to Coast City. Uncle Jed had done a little work there once. Said it was an interesting place to visit.

veryperceptive:

It was Opening Day at Papp Stadium. Spring was in the air, the Star City Rockets were going up against the Central City Stars, and GK Walker was giddy.
He'd gone to meet Zoe, enough makeup on his cheek to cover the now-healing cut, and now they were walking toward the stadium. "Maybe I should get a car," he said, thinking aloud.

veryperceptive:

The zombies started coming back to life. Intact. Wow. That was.... way more awesome than anything he was hopingfor here. He vaguely remembered something like that from the papers, but he'd thought Uncle Jed was just going with a forcibly Happy Ever After as he read.

He went looking for Zoe in the mess and chaos, blood still running down his cheek.

dc_misc:

The city of Star City looked deserted. The citizens had either fled or had been turned into black lanterns. At the heart of the city was the entity known as Nekron. Nekron used the city as his base as his black lanterns ravaged the Earth.

The black lanterns increased their numbers each day and the power levels of the black lantern battery increased with each person that died.

Soon Nekron would have enough power to obliterate all life on this planet.

rightontarget:

While Lian wasn't exactly in the mood for celebrating (not that she was throwing a huge party or anything, anyway), she wasn't going to let Joey's birthday go by unnoticed. Besides, she wanted something to take her mind off of things, and this certainly would do it for at least a little while.

While Joey had never told her his birthday, she had ways of finding these things out.

Lian brought Joey a case of beer and a couple of skin mags. She went to go find him so she could give them to him and wish him a happy birthday.

the_element_son:

Since the Outsiders were one of the few groups out there with a true secret headquarters, bringing GK back there hadn't been an option.  Joey had, instead, opted to meet and pick up his date at the coffee shop where they'd met.  True, going on a date in the middle of a possible zombie invasion wasn't necessarily the best idea, but as far as he was concerned, if they needed more heroes, they'd page.  Whatever was going on now, it was way above his paygrade.

He checked his watch.  He was a little early.  Good.  Drawing a handful of stares, but if the last few days and coming close to dying had taught him anything, it was that life was way to short to even begin to worry about that.

Weird thought.  This was, technically, his first real date in a long while.   Oh, sure, they're been any number of chicks with tattoos and piercings and dye-jobs off to piss off daddy by dating the elemental freak, or the one who'd had a fetish for having melty-stuff on her, and plenty of other fly-by-night girls whose names he could probably not remember....   But this was the first true date, as opposed to a hook-up.

Huh.  Maybe we was growing up after all.

Scary thought.

bloodred_robin:

Tim Drake has been hard at work for the last two days, rarely eating or sleeping since J'anna's death. Frank Wells was dead, so he couldn't have arranged this kind of sick surprise. Tim combed his memories for the extensive list of people who could know his identity and put something like this together. The resources necessary for this kind of psychological warfare were above and beyond those of most of his enemies, but there were a few who could still pull it off. But then it took a special kind of psycho to /want/ to do something like this at all.

 

( Read more... )

veryperceptive:

GK was out at a great little coffee bar with Jacqueline and Liz from work. He had on his capris and a long jacket, and the girls said he totally made it work. Jacque said he had better legs than she had at his age, and GK had giggled prissily and said his mom said the same thing.

"Careful when you look, but there's a superkid present," Liz says. GK swivvles just a little on his barstool to look without being impolite.

veryperceptive:

He'd seen the place, while he was hitting someone with sticks. It seemed as good as any. Shop local, Mom and Uncle Jed always said. So one day, Michelle Torres's law offices would receive a cashier's check for $600. When he's sure she'll have received it by then, GK, will star-sixty-seven his phone and call the offices in question at what seems like it might be a convenient time of the afternoon.

veryperceptive:

A new apartment on Union Ave. Intermittent part-time work at the theater downtown.

And every evening after supper, he throws on one of the specially-lined outfits he's specifically designated for Volunteer Work, paints his face, and makes his way down to the Triangle.

He still hasn't had cause to draw the blade; GK keeps dealing with people who just need to be hit with sticks. But he takes to bringing a bag along, in which to put the ammo and emptied guns he collects in these escapades.

One night he's got quite a few. "Great. What am I supposed to do with all this?"