zoe_torres (zoe_torres) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-04-19 00:41:00

Entry tags:

Sticks and Stones
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.

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 06:09 am UTC (link)
	"The zombie fight would've made sane people crazy," Zoe allowed, resuming her absentminded rock tossing. "Good luck finding a shrink that can think outside the box. I had to see one, once. School said I had anger issues. I said I had idiot problems." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 06:14 am UTC (link)
	"Heh. Yeah. Being pissed off isn't any more a mental illness than being queer. Looks like they're rousing. That's good. Any longer and it's s'posed to be a sign of profound brain damage." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 06:23 am UTC (link)
	"They had brain damage before tonight. The smart ones don't get their hands dirty with the grunt work." She was disappointed but at least there'd be more opportunities later when they worked their nerve up again. "This place swallows people up and won't let go." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 06:26 am UTC (link)
	"Damn..." he says quietly. Hard to know what else to say. As their previous targets trudge off, GK looks down at a guy just making his way through the streets. He looks reasonably healthy and sober, but as GK stares idly... LSD "...That guy's looking for drugs." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 06:33 am UTC (link)
	She thought it a good guess, but she'd been watching them come and go for years. This was her territory. "What makes you say that?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 06:35 am UTC (link)
	GK blushes. "....well, not like I don't know you can keep a secret, but there's something I haven't told anybody. Um. Ever. I'm meta, and it's a really stupid talent." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 06:42 am UTC (link)
	The rest of the patrol was forgotten as well as her pacing rock. She put it in her jacket pocket. "Why aren't you on one of the meta teams then? What's the talent?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 06:45 am UTC (link)
	"Because It's an incredibly stupid talent I've never told anybody about. If I look at somebody too long, I can tell something they want. Can't read their mind, don't know why they want it or what they'll do about wanting it. Just something they want. And knowing one of these idiots want to hit me isn't generally a very practical piece of information." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 06:50 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, all right, but it's more than somebody like me has going on. Is that how you know this Eli guy is crazy?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

veryperceptive
2011-04-20 06:57 am UTC (link)

"No, that was because he was standing there and arguing with a Green Lantern who was not there, and he didn't have one of those rings on. Like I said, that stopped once he ate, but he needed information repeated a lot and just seemed like he was having a rough time. His wants were all pretty basic. Most people's are. The zombies were rough, obviously. And, just so you won't have to ask, I try not to stare at you."

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	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 07:01 am UTC (link)
	"Knowing what people want isn't the same as giving it to them. If you suddenly become a fairy godmother, I want to be first in line." She smiled at him. "Maybe you can tell me what Mom wants for her birthday. She'll never tell him because she doesn't want me spending the money." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 07:04 am UTC (link)
	He giggles. "You got it." Then clears his throat. "So yeah. That's what was up with that." A sheepish smile. He's glad there's somebody he can comfortably tell. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 07:09 am UTC (link)
	"And that's what's telling you the guy down there is looking to score. He's got his corners mixed up. The easy dealers are at the South end." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 03:19 pm UTC (link)
	"Ahhh, poor thing." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-20 05:13 pm UTC (link)
	"So if you know what people want, why didn't you know that other guy wasn't into guys?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	"Some sort of delay in its kicking in. By the time I finally got 'looking for the right Girl,' I was already in the process of humiliating myself." Pause. "Trey's definitely straight, though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

zoe_torres
2011-04-20 05:30 pm UTC (link)

"You don't have any reason to feel humiliated," she said sternly, looking at him. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"Trey's slumming." She looked back to the street. "He's mad at the world over his dad's death and punishing it by hanging out with the Wrong Kind of Girl for his social class. He'll get over it soon enough." Even to her own ears that sounded weak, but she didn't know what to think about Trey at this point. Nice guy, hot as anything, but there was something...off about him. Not bad, just not...balanced.

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	veryperceptive 2011-04-20 05:47 pm UTC (link)
	"Okay. I'll concede there's nothing wrong with either of us. Trey obviously misses his Dad, sure, and maybe he's got issues, but no way do you count as slumming. You've probably got higher standards than most finishing schools." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 05:52 am UTC (link)
	"People don't look past the window dressing to see what's inside. You know that." She gave him a half smile. "I don't know what he wants, but he'll let me know one way or another. Then we'll see." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 05:54 am UTC (link)
	GK smiled, and nodded. "If you end up wanting to borrow the stick to hit him with, you can. So. Couple of burglars and a lost acid junkie. Slow night." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 06:03 am UTC (link)
	"It'll pick up when the weather gets hot," Zoe said with some authority. "People get cranky and do even more stupid things." "I don't know about the stick. Looks like fun, but I'm getting very attached to my guns. You know, Trey may just be looking for somebody to believe him about Green Arrow and Merlyn, and wanting some help getting to the bottom of things." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 06:17 am UTC (link)
	"That might be part of it," GK acknowledges. "But if he does... it might be hard to calm him down from doing something unhealthy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 02:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Bodyguards aren't the answer either. I hate Green Arrow. He failed us down here and look what happened. If he killed Trey's father, he needs to pay." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	veryperceptive 2011-04-21 04:15 pm UTC (link)
	GK thinks. "Good point. Better to sort it out than have the whole family living in fear indefinitely." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	zoe_torres 2011-04-21 06:32 pm UTC (link)
	"They don't need it. It's not like they're used to living in fear where they are." She leaned over the side of the building to get a better look at the street below. She thought she saw something move, but didn't see anything now. "Do you see something weird when you look at Trey?" she asked. "Like he's going to do something stupid?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)