it's the little things, just the little things

[topslug]

Who: Various SERO and AGI-related NPCs, and whoever wants to get involved in this.
When: February 2, all 5 days of it.
Where: Between Sector 1 & 2, in front of the Cozy Cat Cafe.
Summary: Who knew just bumping into someone could cause so much trouble?
Warnings: Super-powered violence and wanton property destruction!

[ 12:45 PM: The day is a cool one, but not unpleasantly so, and the street is filled with the post-lunchtime crowd heading back to their offices. This stretch of cafes and bistros is largely unremarkable except that the owners are taking the bull by the horns, setting their cafes right between SERO and AGI territory; none of them have any obvious affiliation signs, but close observer might notice that the majority of people who frequent one restaurant belong almost entirely to one corporation or another.

The Cozy Cat is just one cafe among many, and utterly remarkable aside from the (rather ugly) beckoning cat squatting in its window.

The moment it all starts is one that's easy to miss: a man in a neatly-pressed white suit stops in front of the cafe, staring at the cat in the window with an expression of faint disgust. At the same time, the door gets thrown open violently, and a red-faced man who looks ready to throttle someone barrels out, right into the man outside the door.

After that, well, things just go from bad to worse. ]

[ ooc; second verse, same as the first. comment as an observer or a participant or a hapless miscreant caught up in this mess. ]

Comments

[acclimatized]

[ if this kept up, john was expecting the same likelihood. the fire at the restaurant on the first second of february was yet another chapter in his life of his dates going spectacularly poorly. someone up there was determined to make his life as difficult as possible. round two at this tawdry café seemed safer so far and he nods in agreement. ]

That sounds nice, yeah. Are you ready to order?

[topslug]

As I'll ever be.

[ that comes with a sheepish grin -- they both know she's pretty much going to order half the menu, and then some. as yako flags the waitress down, a flash of white catches her attention: a man in a white suit stepping down from a car whose doors are held open by poker-faced bodyguards.

huh. well, now she feels underdressed for the location. ]

[acclimatized]

[ john doesn't bite back the chuckle. back at christmas, he hadn't been prepared for such a small girl to pack away so much food. today, he braced himself for the inevitable and ordered a pot of tea beforehand, just so he would have something to drink while she ordered.

but it's a bit unusual for something to distract her from this and he turns his head, trying to see what's grabbed her attention behind him. he looks back at yako when he spots the bloke, but doesn't say anything. he finds it a bit weird though. ]

[topslug]

[ yako drags her attention back to ordering with an effort, spending a moment to shrug at john-- must be a member of a corporation; they're close enough for it anyway.

the man pauses at the front of the cafe, fussing with his cuffs, and it's another minute or so before he steps forward with more purpose, right towards the cafe.

as the waitress turns away with their order, there's a jangle of bells as one of the customers opens the door and steps out. ]

[acclimatized]

[ ... and that's when all hell starts to break loose. john lowers his cup when the raised voices from outside become loud and heated enough to be heard inside the café. ]

Ohhh, that doesn't sound too good. [ they escaped one fire in this loop, only to jump straight into another one. perfect. ]

[topslug]

[ 'not too good' seems like an understatement. john and yako aren't the only ones who've taken notice of the arguing; the cafe's other patrons are glancing over uneasily, though the waitstaff seem largely unconcerned.

of course, when out of the outside tables is sent crashing through the store's glass window, it's rather hard to miss. ]

[acclimatized]

Holy shi— [ to john, the outdoor furniture breaking the window might has well have been a gunshot. the sound of the confrontation advancing – the madness and bedlam of two forces colliding – triggers the ex-soldier back into action. he jumps out of his chair and, without thinking, pulls yako over to his side as everyone witnesses the violence spreading into the café. ]

I've gotta break this up. Call the police.

[topslug]

[ yako's too surprised to do more than let john tug her to him, though she herself instinctively started towards the door at the first sounds of conflict. old habits die hard, and yako's always used to seeking the eye of the hurricane instead of avoiding it altogether. she opens her mouth to speak, tugging at john's sleeve and shaking her head. but when a loud clap of localized thunder -- someone's powers clearly being geared up -- rolls through the air, half her words are lost. ]

--power? I can help. [ unexpectedly, her hand seems to be seeking out john's, to wrap around his wrist or fingers-- whichever he'll permit. ]

[acclimatized]

What was that? [ john breathes, looking down at his hand and then back at yako. he looks confused though he feels like an explanation might have to come later. ]

[topslug]

[ yako smiles back a little weakly, looking paler -- using her power never really gets any easier, voluntary or not. but she shakes her head, grabbing on the nearest chair to prop herself up as she jerks her head towards the door. ]

Later.

[ outside, there's a screech of tires as a car swerves to avoid the fight that's moved on to the next building over, leaving cracked pavement and the smoking wreckage of tables and chairs in its wake. it's hard to say how many participants there are exactly, but there are at least seven superpowered humans out there, all of them determined to beat the crap out of each other. ]