2013.05.23 - Yukon Ho!

Shrinking Violet does need her time alone. After a busy couple days, she's come up to the roof of the Legion HQ. She sits on the ledge, back against the rail with one leg dangling off, slowly sipping a drink as she watches the sun disappear.
When Booster Gold flies towards the Legion headquarters, he is initially aiming to land by the front door. Spotting a figure on the roof, he makes a slight detour. Booster is not difficult to spot, as he gives off a slight, golden glow; he is the opposite of stealthy. "Hi!" he says, bright and cheerful, as he comes in for a landing, giving Violet a casual and jaunty salute. So much for time alone.
For some time, Garth had been going over Shrinking V... sorry, Atom Girl's records, which left him pondering. An Espionage Squad. This was going to be interesting. Well, at least, Rokk's essential summation of the whole thing was 'Legion Code. THIS CODE.' 
Still, Garth wondered, how would someone like that handle this century? Just wait till she encountered New York City cabbies, for example... 
Well, she was at least sticking around the base, but he supposed showing her around would at least help reduce culture shock. 
And when he goes off to look for her... 
"Booster, Vi," Garth greets, as he pops out from the tube system. "How's everyone doing?" 
Salu looks up when somebody comes streaking in. Can't go missing that, now, can she? Violet tenses, until she sees it's somebody she recognizes, at least by reputation. "Booster," she says flatly. The Imskian lets out a faint sigh when somebody else joins them. "Garth," she says, in recognition. She doesn't answer his question, just take another sip, eyeing the two men.
"Oh, you know who I am!" Booster's smile gets brighter and broader, as he points a finger-gun gesture Salu's way, giving her a wink. His head turns when Garth emerges, and he returns his greeting with a cheerful, "Dude." Lightly folding his arms, he arches his eyebrows and says, "Quiet night, so far... I was just coming by to look at stuff. Possibly have a sandwich. That kind of thing."
"I, on the other hand..." Garth grins at Booster, "... was coming to see if Vi wanted to visit the city. And see how she was handling the whole place." Looking towards Salu, Garth quirks an eyebrow. "So, wanna check out Metropolis?" 
"I study," she tells Booster. "You are a joke," she says, smirking with some amusement at getting to say it. "And more of a hero than people realize." She tucks her leg up and rises. "I've travelled in time before, Garth," she says. It's true, although she never lead the time expeditions, or did it solo. "You think I need a chaperone, like all under-agers?"
"Ooh, ouch," Booster's smile turns into a wince, when Violet calls him a joke. He puts his hand over the star on his chest, as if he'd just been run through with an ice pick, and takes a step back. "I assume Garth just wanted to give you a tour, in any case. I mean, I seriously doubt that anyone who's in the Legion needs to be protected or babysat."
"Hey, it was just an offer to give you a tour. Besides, you don't know where the best bar food outside this base is, so..." Bringing his eyebrows up and down in a waggling fashion. "C'mon. Unless you want to sit around here for another few days waiting for... something." 
"You can take punches but not the truth?" Violet asks Booster. "Men," she says with an amused tone. She's definitely in her 'having fun' mode. "Certainly not," she says with firm agreement. "For Brainy to fix this and send me home? If he hasn't done that for the rest of you,..." Salu lifts off the roof slowly. "Let's go."
"Hey, at least you acknowledged that I'm a hero," Booster spreads his hands in a shrug. "Although now I'm wondering if I'm getting damned with faint praise. However," he tilts his chin upwards, as he lifts one hand to point skywards, "Seeing as we've just met, I'm willing to let all that slide. I am Booster Gold." Booster then offers his hand to Violet, for a handshake. "Also known as Michael Jon Carter, although I just go by 'Booster' in costume and out. I assume you got here kind of recently? Welcome to the now."
"Better than being called a thief," Garth grins. Never mind that he was the one who brought it up the first time Booster had encountered the Legion. 
Lifting off the roof, Garth notes, "This is Vi. Short for Shrinking Violet..."
Salu twists as she lifts off and arches in to follow Garth in close formation. "Violet is fine," she says. "Or Atom Girl."
"Hey, I have been open to the Legion about my having a... criminal past," Booster gives Garth a brief frown. He lifts into the air, and then looks thoughtful, rubbing his chin as he quietly says, "Or future, maybe. Since it technically hasn't happened yet, from the perspective of this era." And then, in louder tones once more, "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know... my Brainy said it was a... uh... predestination... predes... something about destiny anyway. So you were supposed to have the ring and the force field and being here, anyway." Motioning towards Booster's Flight ring, Garth grins. "So... Atom Girl, since you were drinking up here, want to find out what the 21st century has to offer?" 
"Naltorian double-talk," Salu says, rather judgmentally. "I make my own fate," she says. She picks up some speed and sweeps in front of the others so she can loop back towards the roof. "Want to come, Grandpa!?" she calls at Rokk.
"Destiny, schmestiny," says Booster, ostensibly in current-era English, although he then switches to Interlac. "I didn't have that stuff given to me. I made a decision and yes, I did take it all. Mea culpa." The young man says this without any real rancor, although he is distinctly less sunny than he typically is.
And that'd be Rokk, on the roof, in civvies, with his own bottle-- he blinks up at the hoverers, then calls back, "No, not unless you're taking Imra or Jeka. I don't need to be the one getting arrested for getting you into bars." Then he grins. "Gotta say, Vi, you keep calling me that, and I might start acting like it. Hey Booster, I got some Tamdhu, you ever try it?"
"Aww, Rokk... let's not have you act like a grandpa, okay? We don't need you being that dirjj who yells at clouds" Garth grins, pausing to hover in the air to watch his elder best friend. "C'mon, if you're gonna get worried about it, we can have Booster take us in." 
"I like you," Salu says to Booster, which may just boil down to her liking him agreeing with her. But that's something, right? Shrinking Violet snorts. "Imra's being studious and dutiful. Jeckie's probably preening, if the one here is like the one I know. You think I can't bluff my way past some SP types? I'm honestly offended."
In many ways, Booster is a fairly uncomplicated guy. He also seems to have an innate need to be liked. Salu's comment towards him earns her a thousand watt smile and a friendly wink. Looking to Garth, he says, "You'd probably need fake ID cards, and that's really not legal. Just noting that in passing." Hovering a little lower, he gives Rokk a questioning look and says, "Nope, I don't even know what that is. Ah..." After a pause, he wonders curiously, "You're not actually a grandfather, are you?"
"SP types, sure. Dicky NYC bouncers? Not so much. And considering how different you are from any Vi I've ever met, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you don't know Jeka at all. All the other Orandan princess Legionnaires from other dimensions were pretty nonplussed she's a snake," Cos calls back up, lifting off the roof as he's speaking. Cheerful, casual. "Nah, Garth, I'm not worried, I'm just thirty-whatever. Not old, even if I'm older than you guys. Hell, my parents had me when they were fifty. Or do Braalians have shorter lifespans where you're from?"
Then the guy pauses and stares at Booster. "Uh. Not in my timeline. Rene was fifteen when I left, and the girls were eight." He extends the bottle of stupidly expensive Scotch in Booster's direction. "Careful, it packs a hell of a punch." Then he waves a dismissive hand at Garth's concerns. "I can't actually go with you unless you've got a telepath with you, here. 'S fine if we go to Europe, the drinking age is much more civilized over there. But here I'm paperwork guy, remember? The authorities aren't going to take me seriously when I have to handle incidents if I'm not, you know, at least seen to abide by the local laws. Unless they're evil laws. Then we reorganize the government for them. So you guys have fun, just don't get caught."
"Princess Priss is a snake?" Salu asks with deep amusement. "Wonderful," she says. "Then let's go to Europe," she tells the group. "If following the rules are so important to you," she taunts Rokk.
"Fine, we'll go north" Garth retorts, as he glances up at the sky to get his bearings. Right. So uh... wait. wrong planet. 
"Booster?" Garth motions, "Lead the way. We'll go north. Tell their, uh... beaver patrol that we're looking for their moose problem. Forget Europe, Vi, too far. Booster, call Skeets, we'll need him to pay for everything." 
"YUKON HO!" hoots Rokk, then, because HOORAY FOR CANADA! And they are off, following the Gold Star.
"Oh, okay, cool..." Booster explains, "In my native era, most of Canada is missing. So it'll be neat to see it. You know, especially not roaming with mutated warstadons." It is about twenty miles into the flight when he reacts with some surprise, "...wait, Princess Projectra is a snake?" Apparently he was the only one who was not aware of this fact. After five more minutes of deep thought, he murmurs mostly to himself in deep consternation, "...how does she have boobs, then?"
"I don't know, do you wanna go test them out, Booster?" Garth retorts.
"Reptiles don't have them," Salu says, "Even so, you can still be one," she says.
"Aaaaa if he tested that-- he'd like try to cop a feel and she'll be all robot-hand-slap," cackles Rokk, uncorking the bottle again. "I hope some Sun Boy shows up and tries it. That would be comedy gold. I'd sell tickets."
Drinking and flying. Best combination ever.
How 'bout them moose goosers, ain't they obtuse?
So basically the next morning, four awful headaches are going to be carrying four miserable -- yet quite accomplished -- Legionnaires out of some backyard, while in the distance, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police respond to an emergency call about some kind of enormous mutant electric space whaleshark flying over Lake Ontario, pulling strafing runs of green spit on a bunch of wildly complaining moose.
Category:Log