2013.08.09 - Attack of the Fan Boy

A casual rumble through the Legion HQ, mentioning something about delicious carbs, and decadent pastries, and 'meet at 7' with a location.
This is the location. The smells emerging from the place promise all sorts of delicious and decadent, and a warmth that is not felt in the unusually cool and rainy summer evening. It was not the most comfortable fly on over, for any who decided to go that route.
Jazmin pulls the door open, letting any who travelled through the sky with her to enter before her into the cozy restaurant.
Wonder Woman wasn't one of the ones who followed from the Legion HQ. Instead, word was radioed over to her at the embassy and she promised to meet anyone interested at that location. She arrives on time, prompt as ever, and is there long enough to greet Jazmin before heading inside. She would have gone for civilian clothes, but regardless of what she wears, she tends to get recognized. Changing her clothing isn't going to help.
Sitting in a back booth of the restaurant is a man in a three-piece suit. He's currently looking at his phone, a glass of white wine sitting on the table next to him as he flips through his messages. As the door opens Justin looks up from 'his' table, and arches a brow. Quite the pair just walked in, and not the type he expected to see in Anita Bella. Of course Wonder Woman is recognized immediately, after all, you can't mistake her for anyone else. The woman with her, though, is also recognized. He grins lightly as he watches the pair for a moment, then looks back down to his phone.
It has been way too long since Keith has come to Anita Bella. The lure of Fern's lasagna is, of course, ever-present, and no-one with functioning taste buds would be dumb enough to pass up a chance to taste it.
It had been a long patrol- three muggings, one hostage situation and, of all things, a cat caught in a tree. He'd been able to avoid the media vultures for all of the former, but when a journalist thought that taking a picture of the purple cat helping a cat down a tree would make for a hilarious news item, Keith knew he needed a break. The other reason he knew he needed a lunch break was because he had briefly fantasized of using an anvil on the aforementioned paparazzi. That meant he was running low on caffeine. And probably lasagna.
Keith walked up to Anita Bella, still in his Vorpal outfit except for a denim jacket thrown on top. He had his cell phone out, sending a message to someone to see if they were free to join him- but they probably weren't, as they hadn't answered his call. Still, he planned to be there for at least an hour or two unwinding, so it didn't hurt to let his friends know where he'd be in case the lure of food was strong. He walks into the place with but a cursory look around as he works on the text message. 
It's amazing, the power of suggestion. No sooner he crosses the threshold than his stomach growls like a lion in the savahnna. He'd definitely gone past his lunch time, and his body was letting him know there'd be no more roof-hopping until he took care of that.
"I swear, I think I'm learning about the city by eating my way through it. This place, however, is worth a second trip, possibly a third or a fourth as well." Jazmin explains as she steps inside, giving a little shake of her damp self. She is in her habitual jeans and a t-shirt, easily mistaken for a random teen if one doesn't spot the Legion ring, or doesn't recognize it for what it is. "Have you been here before?" She asks of Wonder Woman before giving a glance around, and then lifting a hand in a wave towards Justin. Who probably doesn't notice in favour of technology. The same wave heads in Keith's direction. Ditto on the potential lack of notice in favour of technology.
Wonder Woman shakes her head in response, "I've had Italian food, but I've never been to this particular place." Her UN liaison prefers a chain place. She can't understand why. Food made by hand is always better. "Is there anything you recommend?" the Amazon asks as she follows Jazmin to a table. There's a lot of Italian food that Diana enjoys. She's just curious if this place has a specialty. She notes the waves tossed to Justin and Keith, but doesn't offer her own. She doesn't know them yet.
The waves isn't missed, Justin is a bit more perceptive than he first appears. Giving a smile that is, perhaps less than completely trustworthy, he returns the wave to Jazmin. With his attention away from his phone once again, he catches sight of Keith. Like Wonder Woman, the purple cat is pretty hard to miss or mistake. Catching the waitress who's waiting on him, Hammer instructs her to have Keith brought to his table. That is, if the cat wants to join him for a meal.
Jazmin's wave is missed, Keith isn't being the most alert person in the world right now. He finally finishes sending the text... why did it take so long? he didn't quite know why, but ever since he had transformed, his fingerpads seemed to not quite gel well with the smartphone touchscreens. He had just caught himself from sending a text message that read 'Boing to cat @ Amrita Bolivia, car over if you warp' to Patrick, and had decided to use the built-in hardware keyboard to correct it. When he looks up, he finds a waitress coming over to him and she indicates that Justin Hammer was waiting for him.
~Darn, does he live here? He's here every time I come here.~
Keith smiles good-naturedly and nods, starting to walk towards the booth. Naive as he is he has never really understood why Justin chose to associate himself with someone as... bizarre-looking as him. He assumed that it was because he enjoyed the cat's company. Little did he know.
As he walks down, he notices a familiar face--- Jaz, of course, one of Booster's teammates whom he accompanied into the nightmarish delusion that was Mojoworld! Keith smiles and raises a hand to wave at her, when he notices whom she is sitting with, and his eyes quickly go wide.
~Oh god~
~Yep~
~If you're going to embarrass yourself and fanboy out, I am leaving you~
~...you're me, you can't leave me~
~You watch me~
His inner monologue... or, well, conversation took less than a second, and the cat's shyness kicks in and he glides over to Justin's booth with a celerity that might make people wonder if someone had lit the tip of his tail on fire.
"OhheyJustinsonicetoseeyouwhat'sgood?" he says, sliding into the booth and wishing he were somewhat less visible. Outside of, you know, bright purple. He'd been awkward around Superman, he wasn't going to trust himself to be anything other than jittery around /her/. Fortunately, she was with Jaz.
"long time no see, yes..."
"I've had the ravioli, but I've only been here once." Jazmin replies to Diana. "Jubilee made the suggestion, so I'm planning on seeing what catches my eye out of the menu this time. The ravioli was really good, however. I think pretty much everything is really good." She gestures faintly in Justin's direciton. "Do you know Justin Hammer? And.. er.. Vorpal, but I've managed to forget his name beyond his code name. I should take notes or something, but I only ever think of that right about moments like /right now/." She slides into a table, offered by a hostess, coincidentally right near Justin and Keith. Terribly convenient.
Wonder Woman gives a little shake of her head. "I've heard of Mr. Hammer certainly, but we've never met." Different social circles. Not... not that Diana has much of a social circle outside of 'other superheroes'. It's a small social circle. She makes a mental note to start with the ravioli, and try something else beyond there if she's still hungry. "And... no. I've never met the other gentlemen either."
It took her some extra time, but one Imra Ardeen does finally arrive at the restaurant in question. eventually.
Yeah, she's late. Deal with it.
*Cough*
Anyways, as The Telepath from Titan enters wearing blue jeans and a pink T-Shirt (which does have her Saturn Symbol on it) she still can't help but glance around, trying to find her teammates. Especially which ever one set this up.
Justin sets his phone aside as Keith is lead to his table. He picks up his wine glass, raising it toward the feline man before taking a sip and setting it aside again. "Keith, my friend," he says in greeting with his typical grin. "Long time no see. Sit, relax-" The CEO pauses when the Cheshire goes off on a rambling tangent. He quirks a brow, then looks from Keith to Wonder Woman and Jazmin. There's another grin, a more knowing one. "Oh, don't tell me you're going to go all fanboy now, are you?"
The inside of Keith's ears turns a bright crimson. Justin noticing definitely makes him uncomfortable, because it means it is very noticeable.
"...I..." he stops. His voice is a little bit higher than usual, so he starts again in his own octave, "I don't know what you mean--- Oh is Fern here? I haven't been able to come visit because I was just swamped by hell and horrible stuff and Batman screamed at me and I really could use a slice of her lasagna..." 
~Rambling much?~
~Oh, go suck lemons and die~
Jazmin lifts a hand to catch Imra's attention, no matter that thinking hard at the telepath is probably just as effective. "Over here!" She gestures towards another seat at the table and then settles back, the table(s) acquiring a basket of bread. Jazmin twists a little bit of a rueful smile at Wonder Woman. "I.. seem to end up meeting a really wide collection of people these days. For better or worse, or messy or just awkward. Mostly just awkward generally." She isn't even the tiniest bit shy as she catches just the edge of Keith's rambling and looks over to him to ask plainly enough. "Is the lasagna really good? I'm not sure what lasagna is, exactly. Oh and Hi. Booster's doing better, if you haven't caught up with him recently."
Wonder Woman lifts a hand likewise. In case Jazmin's wave was somehow not enough. She glances from Jazmin to Keith and back again. She gives her fellow Legionnaire a smile in return. "Sadly most of the people I meet are a direct result of my position as Ambassador, rather than anything else." Diana is a little too... dutybound sometimes. "I appreciate the invitation," she adds. "My sisters have been insisting I should take an evening off."
Yes, odds are a thought is all that it would take in regards to Imra to get her attention. But the hand is such a better and normal addition, especially given where everyone is. After all, her looking a bit lost then heading towards people might not be that unusual, but the wave and her heading that way does look more natural.
But anyways, as she heads over to the table, she not only nods at Diana and Jaz, but she also offers Keith and Justin nods as well.
"Hello."
Justin offers a chuckle. He's not intending to laugh at Keith, but his behavior is sort of amusing. Then Jazmin, who's seated close to them, draws his attention. It's a perfect in to get the fan boy introduced to Diana. Plus, Hammer will never turn down an opportunity to network. "Hey Jazmin, swipe any more Starbucks cards lately?" he asks, his tone intended to be joking, though with his reputation it could be taken wrong by those who don't know him. Imra's nod is returned in like as the woman joins the other table.
When Jazmin addresses Keith, he jumps just a little, but he recovers and turns around to face her, trying to ignore the fact that the inside of his ears was crimson. "H-hi Jazmin! Er... the Limogna...lasagna? Oh the lasagna is really, really good, it's like a little t-taste of heaven." He grins. Not quite the cheshire grin, though, a little more awkward "I s-saw Booster, he came to v-visit me last night to tell me he was doing better... it's so g-good to hear. I was afraid he might not be able to..." he gives Imra and Wonder Woman a little wave. "I'm Keef. Keith."
"I figure it's part of my position to get out and get to know the city and people. At least that's the theory I'm telling myself such that the paperwork doesn't make me insane." Jazmin notes to Diana and then grins. "Glad you could come out and be social.. and you as well Imra. Both of you tend to be elusive. It's good to get out some." Justin's quip makes her laugh and she waggles a finger at the CEO. "I gave it /back/. How're you doing, Honey? I was just thinking not that long ago that I should try and sweet talk your secretary into letting me see if you wanted to go out for pizza or something. Apparently I just need to turn up here a little more often." She nods at Keith's recommendation. "Well then. I'm going to try lasagna. Do I need to do introductions all over the place, or can people manage it all on their own?"
So, out of all the things that could surprise Imra, right here and right now, the thing that surprises her is Jazmin calling Justin Hammer 'Honey' and talking about possibly asking him out on a date.
Yeah. That just causes her to stop in her tracks, and peer at her teams leader for a moment or two, before she finally takes a seat.
"Call me Imra." is said towards Kieth with a smile and a nod as she recovers though, while keeping half an eye on Hammer just to see how he reacts to what Jaz said.
"And if you wanted to find me Jazmin, all it'd take is a thought. Usually. Unfortunately I've been a little busy on a project lately, and well..." She shrugs. "Sorry."
Hammer laughs lightly. "Good luck sweet talking Liz," he replies to Jazmin, "She's a hard egg to crack, that one. Likes to make sure I'm slavin' away." He has to wonder if the Legionnaire has been talking to Fern, though, the way she talks about just needing to show up more often. Fern's visit to the office before his Nevada trip managed to get the entire office buzzing. "But I'm doing good, doing good. And I have to second the lasagna recommendation." When introductions are brought up, the CEO stands up, walking up to the other table. "Justin Hammer, CEO of Hammer Industries. Always nice to meet colleagues of Miss Cullen," he addresses both Diana and Imra in his usual, up front tone. One thing is for sure, Hammer is anything but shy.
Wonder Woman offers Imra that warm smile of hers that she seems able to call up without difficulty. Keith and Justin too, both get that smile. "I think I can handle that much," she confirms to Jazmin. "I'm Diana of Themyscira." But they know already. If Diana has noticed how jittery Keith is, she's at least being polite by not pointing it out.
Keith isn't shy, either. Usually. But he does have a history of being bashful around the more well-known heroes. 
Okay, he was terrified around Batman. But everybody acts terrified around Batman. It's what Batman does. The fact that Keith was a fanboy turned accidental hero tends to surface in encounters such as this. He returns the smile and says nothing, because if he says nothing, then he has nothing to screw up, right?
And then that's where it happens.
Three women looking very much like the Vandellas appear standing on the table between Justin and Keith, only they're maybe one hand tall. They're dressed in rather fabulous-looking motown stylings, and immediately start to sing
~Look at the cat,
He don't know where it's at
Fears to open his mouth
Make a fool of him, watch out!~
Immediately Keith jumps back against the booth, eyes wide. "OH god, no, not now..."
His hand comes down on top of the little Greek Chorus, as if squashing a bug, and they vanish in a flash of purple light.
"...the lasgana. is. delicious." Keith says, pretending that didn't happen.
His power had started to manifest like this when he was nervous... it was embarrassing.
A snap of Jazmin's fingers at Justin's mention of his secretary, and a smirk of a smile. "I could just turn up on your windowsill, but I doubt the windows open anyhow." She glances to her phone at the bingledeeboopdeeboop of the attention seeking device, falling into the same technological trap as she was giving Justin and Keith a hard time about. She mutters what sounds like something that's probably not /entirely/ suitable for polite company, but is mercifully not in English. "Apparently, it doesnt matter that it was my idea to escape for food, I need to head back to HQ. Imra? Can you bring me back an order of lasagna, please? Enjoy your meal /first/, I'm not going to be going anywhere, but there's no sense anyone else missing out on good food and downtime." She gestures to Justin as she stands. "Good to see ya, Honey. You too, Keith and your.. uhh.. personal soundtrack? You are an odd kitty. Diana, you should stop by. Alright.. /alright/." The last is directed at her phone, as it bingledeeboopdeebooops again. "Keep your electrons on, sheesh."
"Lasagna? Will do. I'll see if I can get you some breadsticks or garlic bread as well." is said towards her 'Boss' as Jazmin takes off. Besides odds are if Imra forgets, and she won't, Diana will remind her. Right?
All though as those three 'singers' appear on the table, The Telepath from Titan can't help but chuckle slightly before she shakes her head at Keith.
"It's nice to see you again Mr. Hammer." is said with a polite smile as she glances at him.
Wonder Woman smiles again at Jazmin. "I'll stop by," she promises. She's been around more often, but still. Ambassadorial duties. An eyebrow lifts at the impromptu display, but she has no criticism to offer. Just that smile. "You can relax," she says gently.
The nervous illusion that Keith produces subconsciously causes Justin to pause. That was... Unexpected. He looks between the cat and the illusion before Keith moves to squelch it. He can't suppress the smirk. Poor cat, that's gotta be hell. When Jazmin moves to take her leave he offers her a wave. "Now you don't work too hard there, Jazmin. And if you find yourself on Staten Island, we'll do coffee again." Turning to Imra he offers a car-salesman smile. "We've met before?" he asks, adjusting his glasses and racking his brain trying to remember where they may have run into each other previously.
Keith tries to look nonchalant. Only that you can't look nonchalant after smashing the Vandellas back into fiction. He does seem to relax a little, but just enough to sip from his glass of water.
"Sorry about that... my powers have a mind of their own... sometimes-- aw, Jazmin, I'll bring some tirami-- actually, I gave Booster some of my Tiramisu. Bug him about it when you get to HQ..." he looks at Justin as he chuckles, blushing some more, and offering a random tidbit of trivia "... I make a good one... though I can't taste sweets anymore since I transformed. But I remember how to make a good batch."
"If he hasn't eaten it all already." is said towards Keith with a slight smile and a shake of Imra's head, before she shrugs at Justin. "Not exactly. We were at a party and sort of met in passing. But I don't really remember if you were even told my name. Sorry about that."
Then the telepath extends her hand.
"Imra Ardeen. Nice to meet you."
And as Diana does try to get Keith to relax, her smile grows ever so slightly.
Wonder Woman shakes her head. "No reason to apologize," she assures. As far as she's concerned, that's no reason. "Jazmin told me the ravioli was excellent," she says. She just heard about the lasagna, right? "Do either of you come here often?" She's wondering about the rest of the food.
Justin grins at the Cheshire. "Oh, really? If that's the case, I'll have to try it sometime," he says in regards to the tiramisu. Looking back to Imra, the CEO takes her hand. "You know how those big parties are, so hard to remember all the people you run across. It's good to meet you, officially, Miss Ardeen." With the introductions past, Justin sits back down at his booth. He leans back, trying to look laid back but just coming off as overconfident. "Quite a bit," he replies to Diana, picking up his wine glass. "If I may, everything on the menu is amazing. All home made, excellent quality."
"I do... well... used to, before life got crazy." Keith was even planning to come for a late dinner some nights ago, and then Two-Face happened. And then Mojoworld... "A dear friend of mine, Fern Fiddlehead, works here... she makes the most amazing l-lasagna..." he lifts his hand warily and looks under it... just in case. You never know. But the Vandellas are gone for good.
He is getting more relaxed now. His unusual appearance always made him a little self-conscious in these situations. "---if you're looking for a good soup to start, I r-recommend the Pasta e Fuggil...Faggori.... pasta and beans."
There's a quirked eyebrow at Justin as he mentions that 'everything' is good, but Imra doesn't push in regards to that. Instead as the name of the person who makes the lasagna is mentioned, that fact is filed away for potential later use.
"Actually, I'm kind of torn between pizza or a salad..." the telepath admits. All though as she thinks about what Keith said in response to Diana's question, she does blink, before offering him her hand as well.
"And sorry if I'm rude, but I'm Imra Ardeen. I should of introduced myself to you as well."
"Everything?" Diana does not actually sound surprised. It makes her smile again. "A friend of mine prefers eating at the big name restaurants," she admits. "I keep telling him that food is better when you make it yourself. Not when it is mass produced. He has trouble believing me, I think."
There's another confident grin and a bit of a chuckle from the CEO. "Oh, absolutely Miss Diana," Justin replies as he takes a sip of wine. "Absolutely. Home made is far better. And you can't get any more homemade than right here. This place is one of the hidden jewels of New York City, if I do say so." About this time the waitress who had been waiting on Justin in Fern's absence brings out a bowl of gelato and sets it down in front of him. Hammer gives the waitress a polite nod of thanks.
"Homemade is always best. I'm not a bad cook myself, I cook all---" Keith pasues. "I used to cook all the time... I sort of limit myself to tiramisu occasionally 'cause... well... "he looks embarrassed. "It's almost impossible not to get purple fur everywhere unless I dress up in a hazmat suit."
There's a sympathetic wince from Imra towards Keith at that admission, but she doesn't ask anything. After all, he knows what he's talking about. All though if Brainy ever has any free time...
Never mind.
And at the discussion of homemade versus mass produced, the telepath remains quiet. Possibly a bit too quiet while Justin and Diana talk that over.
"Just Diana," she insists gently. She could demand Justin say 'Ambassador' or 'Princess' but in such informal situations, it doesn't matter. Ambassador still feels a little weird when she hears it, anyhow. She side-glances at Imra, letting herself look concerned. "Everything all right?"
Justin's lack of proper formalities is just another one of his charming aspects. He nods. "Diana it is," he replies before turning his attention to dessert. As he always does he tucks his napkin into his shirt collar before he starts eating. "Even all the desserts are homemade. You guys gotta try the gelato. It's my favorite I've found anywhere." Apparently he doesn't notice, or care, about Imra's silence, simply filling it with words of his own.
Keith O'Neil looks at Imra, tilting his head at her silence. But he doesn't say anything since Wonder Woman already asked after her. The cat sips his water and listens, not having anything to comment on desserts, since he can't taste them.
"Everything is fine." is said with a slight smile. "Just still getting use to food, so to speak."
Which is the truth. But it's also a bit of a long story.
"I mean the fact that meat is eaten as much as it is threw me for a loop the first time, so..."
She shrugs.
Wonder Woman looks surprised. "Oh," she says. "I apologize. I didn't realize you didn't eat meat." She has yet to be as... active in reading Legionnaire personnel files as some of her fellows are. "I hope eating meat does not offend you, Imra." Because the last thing Diana wants to do is offend anyone.
Now it's Justin's turn to fall quiet. Imra's a vegetarian? Suit herself. More for those who aren't. He keeps eating, mostly politely, as he listens to the Legionnaires talk.
Technically Imra is not a vegitarian. It just has to do with how less common meat eating is on a lot of UP worlds in her time, and....
Never mind. As was said before, it's a long story. And a complicated one. But it involves time travel so that's to be expected. Right?
And then, there's a quiet beeping. Keith looks down and takes out a slender phone from his suit pocket (Yes, that's right! pockets! in a hero suit! with zippers! because pouches and belts are very dangerous. They tend to breed). He looks at the phone for a bit and reads the message. "... oh crap. Gotta go, bank alarm." He grins and slides out of the booth. "Justin, you can take my tab..." He hadn't actually had a chance to order anything, so he winks at Justin. "... an honor to meet you all, would love to stay but I've got to earn my paycheck. Miss Imra, Your Highness..."
The burst of adrenaline making him forget Diana asked to be referred to by name. He looks towards the windows and disappears into thin air, appearing at the other side of the window and then kicking off the ground, floating upwards and out of sight.
He felt less nervous with something to do, after all. Especially when there was the chance of banging people's heads together for being dumb. That always did cheer him up.
Category:Log