Day 35: Twin Pines Restaurant

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

(From here!)

Artemis walked into the restaurant and glanced around at the decor. He wasn't impressed, but he wasn't disdainful either. He simply smiled. It was nice... for a town with a population of barely three hundred.

The boy smiled up at the person up front. "Two, if you please."

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[kanpekinasenshi.livejournal.com]

[I keep totally failing at this post via coding, etc. Sorry. @_@;;;]

Seiya might have wondered if it were related to Usagi's power somehow, after learning for certain that Usagi was Sailor Moon, if she didn't also know for certain that her own Princess Kakyuu was a very bright star and did not require fifteen meals a day to keep moving. Instead, Seiya had decided this was probably some Earth thing, some people here were just born with a natural ability to eat at insane speeds or insane amounts. Or both. And if they were lucky, they'd get someone with money to burn, say an idol singer, to pay their way. Or free coupons, for that matter.

Wally's response to her question about the Justice League hadn't been what she'd expected at all. "What? Superheroes? Sorry, I mean I really haven't heard of the Justice League before." She emphasized it, but with a slightly rueful smile. "For all I knew it was your poker club's nickname, and you guys just happened to win a game with the aliens last week." Well, maybe not, but it could be.

Superheroes, huh...? And those descriptions, definitely alien. How odd, though, the wings manifesting wasn't unusual for high-level Sailor soldiers, but green skin and changing shape? And why would aliens be protecting an alien world from yet more aliens? The same reason she and her teammates ran out to fight off the phage each time Galaxia reared her head, she supposed, it was built in even if they weren't protecting home. The same reason it hurt to run past patients in other struggles here. It was something built in.

"But, if super-eating isn't good enough to make you a superhero, being a forensics lab guy is heroic too, if you're helping solve crimes. And you wanted to report this place, to call in for some help, right?" But he'd said before he'd call friends, now he'd call their 'line'? Maybe he just meant he'd get someone else to call for him. Come on, look at the other people around. He's no more an average lab tech than you're a normal seasonal pop star.

She smiled a little more warmly than she really meant to, and her voice went soft. "Where I come from, there's a saying that everyone has a bright, shining star inside of them. No matter who it is, whether they're a superhero--or not--they have a shine that's distinct and beautiful inside of them. That's true, you know."

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, they're this really big group of superheroes from all over. They keep an eye on things, help out in disasters, defend the Earth... All kinds of stuff. They, ah, get on TV a lot, so pretty much everyone where I'm from knows about them." He waved his hand vaguely, trying to indicate that knowing a lot about the Justice League wasn't really a big deal. The poker comment got a laugh. "I can't really see J'onn or Shayera playing poker though." J'onn wouldn't see the point (which was probably a good thing 'cause, duh, telepathy) and Shayera would prefer taking them drinking and bar fighting.

He flushed again at being called a superhero and quickly interrupted Seiya. "I'm really not hero material. I mean, sure I work in the police labs, but I'm hardly the only one there, and I don't do as much work as everyone else. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's trying to call in to the authorities for help, so I really can't take any kind of credit for that idea. Besides, whoever heard of having supereating as a power? It makes about as much sense as you having magical pop idol powers or something." He smiled broadly and tried to stop from nervously fidgeting with his napkin.

Wally tilted his head and listened carefully to what Seiya said about everyone having a shining star inside them. He could understand that; it was a lot like his belief that pretty much everyone was nice enough if you gave them the chance. "That's really nice. And I mean that," he said sincerity ringing in his tone. "And I believe you that it's true. I just wish everyone else could see it," he added wistfully.

[kanpekinasenshi.livejournal.com]

"A team so big sounds pretty impressive." It was odd for guardians of a world to be male, but not unheard of. Maybe instead of true aliens, Wally was just not aware of a stellar court, with the 'aliens' being members of the same system? Seiya reflected that really, she ought to be the one rethinking her perception of the word alien, since even Usagi and her friends should be aliens in a sense to the planet Earth itself. But she doubted Sailor Neptune or Uranus would listen to that line of argument, it'd get her a blast across the head.

"Still, you don't have to be on TV all the time to be a hero. Police and detective work, things like that are heroic too. There's no point in having big superheroes," or Sailor soldiers, "defending the world from evil aliens if the world's too full of crime and corruption otherwise. You understood what I meant before about the light inside of people, right?" And she had the feeling he did, which was a very warm feeling, comforting in a strange place. Like when they'd meet someone who actually heard the message in their songs, or when she was around... well, not exactly Usagi, but Usagi's friends at least. "It's very serious where I'm from." He could think that was Japan, if he liked. "I just think you have a particularly bright shine around you. Even if you aren't a super-hero, or I don't have magical pop idol powers."

She imagined the winged microphone that came to her when she started the transformation, and had to admit, that was fairly 'magical pop idol,' even if the pop idol part had come after the fact. Breaking the solemn tone a bit, she grinned again. "Even if." All that fidgeting... she couldn't help baiting him a little.

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally grinned. "Yeah, I've always though that the work the police, medical workers and fire fighters do is just as important as what the big guys in the suits do." He nodded agreement when Seiya asked if he'd understood what she'd meant about the light inside of people. "Thanks, but I don't think I shine that much more brightly than anyone else would, given the chance. Though I think I get what you mean; the superheroes aren't any better than the normal guys, right?"

"Hah, well if I ever do wind up with random superpowers, I'll let you know," he said jokingly. He felt a bit bad about having to lie about it, but old habits were hard to break. Even if he wasn't as good as hiding his identity as Batman and Superman, it was still something he tried to maintain, even though it wasn't exactly easy with his diet. "And you have to promise to tell me if you get magic pop idol powers. Mostly so I know what they are, exactly. Do you think you'd just have an amazing singing voice or what?"

[kanpekinasenshi.livejournal.com]

"Pretty much... just that some of us get a better chance than others. But everybody gets their chance sometimes, I think. And you shouldn't refuse a compliment, you know. I don't say that to just everybody. If I said you had a cuter face than the other guys here, would you say you don't think it's much cuter than anyone else?" Seiya laughed a little, feeling more relaxed. It was too bad, but she couldn't tell any more easily than he could, even if she was nearly positive now.

"I'll promise only if you do, Wally." She sipped a little water, and added, "Besides, don't underestimate the power of music. You never know. I already have an amazing singing voice, thank you, hours of voice training and practice help make sure of that." Natural talent was nice, and all, but all three of them had worked hard to be professional. They couldn't just be professional, in fact. For their brief moment of stardom, the Three Lights had to be the best, to make sure their songs reached as far as possible, were heard everywhere. "Tell me more about the Justice League? It's interesting. I'd love to hear about the one with the wings especially."

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

"Hmm," Wally made a show of taking a long look around the restaurant. "I don't know, this institute has a lot of really pretty people in it..." He winked. "But I guess I could say that the prettiest girl is at this table."

He winced and resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Just go ahead and imply that she can't sing amazingly well already, why don't you? "I didn't mean it like that!" he apologised, "I'm sure your voice is fantastic. I guess I meant something like being able to hypnotise people with your voice. That would be kinda cool." He rubbed the back of his neck and hoped that Seiya wouldn't hold that slip-up against him.

Her next question threw him. How much could he tell without seeming to know too much? How much did the average person really know about the League anyway? He was also curious about why she was so interested in Shayera. "Gee, I don't know if there's much more to tell. Shayera's from Thanagar originally. They, uh, invaded the Earth a while back, but she helped us fight them off. A lot of people still hate her for that though." He sighed. Even after Shayera had stopped wearing her Thanagarian uniform and helped save the world several times over, people still wanted to blame her over the invasion. It bugged him, even if she seemed less bothered by it.

"Is there any reason you wanted to know?"