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Who: Tinya Wazzo and you, whether the character knows Tinya or not
What: Celebrating Tinya's nineteenth birthday!
When: April 21st
Where: The Raccoon Room

Content Warnings: underage drinking, possible discussion of underage sex/marriage/motherhood, possible discussion of an emotionally abusive mother

The Raccoon Room is beautiful as always, left mostly alone except for vases of blue roses sat on tables apart from the dance floor. Blue had always been her favorite color, blue to match her eyes, and she'd rather not to into details of how exactly she managed to acquire so many within such a short period of time. But what she didn't say was that there was a florist who needed a Night Walker to help them cope with the lack of sun and she was the one who responded.

The birthday girl herself looks lovely in a blue strapless dress with no shoes or stockings, the blue in the dress setting off the blue in her eyes, the jet-black of her hair, and the faint blue tint to her skin.

There's a large board with markers where people can write their messages to the birthday girl, ranging from well-wishes to encouragement to "who the Void are you?" Her feelings wouldn't be hurt at the latter, she's well-aware of the fact that she's new in town.

The meal is made of small plates meant to be shared between two or more people and selection of sherry to choose from to go with the food. During the meal portion of the evening, female vocalist jazz plays lightly in the background, enough to be heard but not so much as it would drown out conversations between those sharing tables.

As the meal ends and the plates are cleared, a waltz music plays, ranging from classical waltzes to later songs which lent themselves to waltzing. During this portion of the evening, she's relaxed, happy, dancing with whomever approaches her without care about gender identity, not minding if she led or followed.

As the evening passed midnight, a variety of cocktails were available and the music changed again to what people from the 20th and 21st centuries would recognize as New Wave music came on and the dancing grew far more informal, Tinya in the middle of it all and singing along to the music.

And as dawn approached, one can find Tinya sitting at one of the tables, finally sampling a piece of flourless chocolate cake for the birthday girl with her feet resting on a chair in front of her. She looks happy, as happy as she could be, but there's a wistful gleam in her eyes.

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She's used to soirees, galas, balls, and more. Granted, she was usually plying ambassadors and diplomats with as much liquor as it took to keep them talking, then ran to Mother with what they'd spilled about their plans, their secrets.

But this is her party and she's going to enjoy it from start to finish. And she loves the cure, but adores Peter Murphy and Joy Division.

When she spots Kyle, she immediately goes over to him, a lemon drop martini in hand, but she seems remarkably sober for someone who's been doing all she can to enjoy herself.

And she goes in for a hug with a happy smile. "Kyle! I'm so glad you made it! Have you had a chance to get something yet?"

Kyle's a hugger, so he returns the embrace warmly.

"Nope, just walked in. I actually meant to be here earlier, but this endless night crap is really messing with my sense of time." He's pretty sure he's been waking up at random times, and falling asleep just as haphazardly.

"This is pretty swanky. But I guess it's a landmark birthday?"

It's nice to be somewhere where a hug can just be a hug.

"Then we'll have to get you something to drink and there are probably still dishes left over from the dinner portions. And I know exactly how that feels. It really messes with a person's day, doesn't it?" She's forced herself to maintain her usual regimen, but it's been difficult.

Tinya chuckled a little. "Not exactly. I'm nineteen now, but it also marks my fourth year somewhere other than my home galaxy. I don't know if I deserve congratulations or sympathy."

"A drink sounds genuinely very nice," he says gratefully. "Not to sound like I rely on it for dealing with stress or anything."

"Well, that's legal to drink in Canada," Kyle points out. "Whoa, you've been away from home that long?"

"All right, let's go over to the bar," she says with a smile. "Me, neither, but it's a celebration! I'm celebrating."

"Kind of, sort of. I was on another world for three years, then went home for three years. So I have two conflicting sets of memories for my fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth years. Then I was sent back to the other world, went to sleep there and woke up a squid. It's a little horrifying."

Kyle whistles lowly as he's steered toward the bar. He's bad with alcohol - he has no idea what to order.

"Dude, that is... SO confusing," he says. "I was in space before this, but at least that was only ONE place."

She knows all too well. She's been going to diplomatic receptions since she was five years old and people weren't always careful with their trays of champagne. In fact, it was after she shared a tray of them with Lyle, now a Legion friend but then another child of diplomats left to run wild, then got the bright idea of cutting her mother's wardrobe to shreds for costumes (for both herself and Lyle). Then the two stormed the reception hall in their costumes and a mountain of multicolored bubbles (thanks to Lyle), both belting out "Anything Goes."

...Lyle was soon after sent to stay with family friends.

And she says kindly, noticing that he was taking a while to order, "You can't go wrong with a mojito."

"It sounds so, yes, but it makes sense when living it," she says, trying to not let her concern from home bleed through in her voice. She's having a birthday party. Now is not the time to worry about matters at home she can't change from here. "May I ask about it? Or is it too much of a sore subject?"

"Oh," he days, flushing pink. "Great. Yeah, uhm, a mojito please." When the drin is placed in front of him he sips it cautiously before nodding. "That's good. Sorry, I'm a hick, I am not good at this sort of thing."

He nods. "Oh, sure, it's fine. Uhm, I just woke up on this like, abandoned planet. These aliens were abducting people to try and rebuild the place. Not sure why they picked me - almost everyone else was a superhero or a space wizard or something."

She hastens to reassure him. "No, it's just that I've had way too much time to get good at this kind of thing. Even more now since I spend so much time at Earworm for work." She's become a staple there since at least a few people find themselves there trying to ignore their problems. Sometimes, she helps them ignore them. Sometimes, she helps them solve them.

"Hmm. They wouldn't have picked you if you couldn't keep up with the others. And it doesn't always take super-human skills to deal with otherworldly problems. I mean, just look at Batman. History says he was just a guy, but a guy who could stand among giants. And one whose real identity we don't know, even after a thousand years. If that helps?" [her expression and voice are earnest and (hopefully) encouraging]

"Oh, you work there? That's cool. I've really only been once and I'll be honest, I was kinda tripping on an accidental virus." A sentence that should not make any sense, but in a place like this is usually accepted.

Kyle snorts. "No, no, trust me: aliens are dumb. This was absolutely not the first time I'd been mistaken by aliens as someone more useful." It is rapidly becoming apparent that Kyle's life was not as normal as he claims. "Batman was rich, though. Being rich means you can make all sorts of super gadgets and stuff."

And she smiles, saying "Well, not exactly. But there's always someone there trying to escape from something. A partner who isn't who they thought they'd be, a bad day at work, a good day at work. Someone who's too shy to approach, so I do the approaching. I'm a Night Walker." And she knows all too well the reputation Night Walkers have. It's okay. Most of the time, all they want is emotional intimacy and that's something she's entirely familiar with providing.

And she chuckles. "They certainly can be, if the diplomatic corps which became the governing body for the United Galaxies was anything to judge by. But, not the first time? Sounds like there's a story behind that." And she's learned to chuck 'normal' in the trash a long time ago. But, she sounds amazed. "Was he? How do you know that? It's 3000 AD when I was from, no one knows who Batman really was. It's the best-kept secret in history."

"Oh, cool. So's my boyfriend. He doesn't really like, hang out and offer services exactly, but he's a Paleblood and he is really, really good at getting people to chill the fuck out." A pause. "When he isn't deliberately antagonising them, I mean."

Kyle sighs. "Okay, these aliens showed up and thought I was a professor at DeVry Institute. I was nine. So. Yeah, no."

He smiles and gives her a funny look. "Well. I mean, where I'm from it's a comic book character, that's all. Batman's REAL in your time? Wild."

"Really? Is he an independent contractor, then? And I guess a Paleblood would be a perfect Night Walker. I'm a Coldblood, everyone tells me I should be a Hunter. But I did enough hunting back home and I'm good at what I do here." And she laughs. "Yes, that would be a bit of a hurdle to clear."

She listens intently, wondering if it was her people. "What's the DeVry Institute? Though, I've known nine year olds who went to MIT." Lyle. Her best friend who she misses like a limb.

She blinks in confusion. "A...comic book character? I guess maybe Terrans based comic books on Batman, but he was a real person. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman...those were the three most remembered by Terran history. The ones we based ourselves on."

"I guess he is," Kyle muses. "Yeah, from what I understand a lot of them are Paleblood. But I don't see why you couldn't do just as good a job." He grins. "Yeah. He's a total asshole, but he is actually the kindest person you'll ever meet. He cares so much about people."

"A bullshit school I did not attend. MIT, huh? Yeah, I'm smart, but not a genius. My Little brother is, though."

Kyle laughs. "Oh, wow, okay. Yeah, this happens sometimes, here. Stuff from other universes bleeds into others as like, fiction or myth. Batman where I'm from has comics and movies and cartoons. Superman, too. Wonder Woman gets kinda ripped off, though."

"I like to think that I am. Back home, I was everybody's confidante, so the skills I had there translate pretty easily to being a Night Walker. And he sounds like a good person to know. Actually, he sounds a lot like my best friend from home."

Tinya nodded. "Lyle scored an eleventh level intelligence, something unheard of for a human. Most of the time, only Coluans score that high. And what's your little brother like?" She loves hearing about siblings since she was (technically) an only child. Her "sister" didn't count since she was meant to be part of Tinya from the beginning.

She grins. "I'm trying so hard to keep myself from asking if you know Batman's civilian identity."

"Yeah, exactly! It's not like your people skills just go away." Kyle laughs. "Yeah? Does your best friend frequently threaten violence on people, too?"

"That sounds really high. On behalf of humans, go Lyle." Kyle brightens. "Oh, Ike is great. My folks adopted him from Canada, so he's a little weird, but he's great. He's so smart that growing up it was kind of annoying because, you know, I'm older, I'm supposed to be the wise one or whatever. But he's such a good kid I couldn't be really mad about it. He's pretty normal aside from the genius Canadian thing - he plays video games and watches dumb shit same as anyone."

Kyle, who of COURSE knows who Batman is in popular media, laughs. "I mean, it could be totally made up? So I could tell you."

She grins. "Especially when one's people skills were honed to the degree that mine were." And she can't help smiling wider. "He's not, but his boyfriend is, though that's mostly for us plebes to get the fuck out of their lab. Though, the fact that he now calls it their lab instead of only his lab is progress."

"Better never say that to him in person, his ego already enters the room before he does," she says fondly. "I wish I could say that I understood, but I was an only child. It might be nice, having a brother. Even though he'd constantly be showing you up in certain areas. And who doesn't love video games?"

She looks like she wants to ask so. Damn. Badly. And she makes an audible sound of distress. "It could be. It probably should be. I can't imagine the real Batman letting his civilian ID being known to anyone, even those on his peripheries like five billion Robins took the secret to their graves."

"How come they're so good?" he asks, ever the curious one. "Hey, a shared space, that's cute."

"It's pretty cool, although I know not every sibling is as close as we are. My best friend back home, he has an older sister who pretty much just terrorized him for our entire childhood."

Kyle sips his drink and looks a trifle smug. "Well. If you ever change your miiiiind..."

"For Lyle? No one really knows. His parents were diplomats in the same delegation as Mother, but they were idiots." And way too easy to manipulate. "As for Brainy, he's kind of like me. A family legacy."

"Ugh! Why are people like that? It makes no sense, especially when it's family. Family is supposed to have your back." At least that's what she's heard? It's hard to believe when being evaluated by her great-great grandmother, her face remarkably unlined despite her age, but her eyes like chips of blue ice.

It's obviously taking all of her willpower to not ask, but she knows that if the secret was meant to be known, someone would have spilled it at sometime. A one thousand year old secret. "Urrrrgh! No. No, I'm going to be strong and not ask."

"Huh. Dude, where you're from sounds really complex." Of course it does to him - he's a small-town boy at heart. A human one.

Kyle shrugs. "Dunno. I think family is really important, but I also lucked out and have a good one. My friend's family situation has always been a little more, uhm. Strained. His dad is a bit of a character." That's putting it mildly.

He laughs. "Okay, okay, then I'll never mention it again. Put it right out of mind."

"Yeah, it's--for those of us who come from particular lineages, there's a ton of pressure to live up to the ones who came before us." Which was an understatement. Brainy never liked to talk about it, but everyone knew that the first Brainiac was one of Superman's most dangerous enemies.

Almost apprehensively. "What kind of character are you talking about?" Surely not as bad as her own father.

And she groaned and did her best to look tormented. "I'm trying, I'm trying! Ugh, almost everyone else, we have the civilian identities of."

"Okay, I can understand that. Not like, personally - the Broflovskis are not some royal family - but I understand the concept from TV and books and stuff."

Kyle shrugs. "He's an alcoholic who decided to run a weed farm because that way he could be stoned all the time. He didn't really ask his wife or anything, just sort of bought a farm and moved them all out there. He has a history of doing dumb shit like that. Like I could tell you so many stories about crap he's done, it's ridiculous. My dad is usually pretty normal." Usually.

"Oh, so you know like, Superman somehow fooled everyone by wearing frigging glasses and stuff?"

She nods. "It's like--your many thousandth great grandmother discovered phasing and her many hundreds granddaughter united a planet! What have you done lately? And by you, I mean me." Usually said to her by her mother.

And that is...a lot. A lot a lot. "If I were married to a man like that, I'd have had a divorce lawyer standing by with papers ready to go. To not ask about such a huge lifestyle change...the papers would be in the email." And she thought for a moment, then decided, well...it can't hurt? "My father...he was a gambling addict. Kept it from my mother for years. He was also an alcoholic, even though there were plenty of chances for him to turn his life around and he just. Didn't."

"Yes! After getting a good look at him, I have no idea how he pulled that off. It's like, with the glasses, he's a very handsome, well-built man who seemed to have too much fondness for flannel. Once he's seen in costume, it's obvious."

Kyle rolls his eyes. "Oh my god, it's just family pressure on steroids. I get guilted for not being as successful as my cousin but that? That's a whole other level. But weirdly the same vibe."

He sighs. "Yeah. They almost divorced a couple of times, and honestly? They should have. I think it would have been better for their kids." His forehead creases. "Jeez. I'm sorry. God, it's crazy how MUCH people can hide, isn't it? Like you can just go about your life and meanwhile your spouse has all these fucking secrets. I hate that."

Kyle laughs. "At least other people wear a mask!"

"It really, truly is. I've been standing my ground, but...the older I get, the more I wonder how long I'll be able to keep it up. And if success can be measured in kindness, humor, and being easy to get to know and even easier to like, you have your cousin beat on every level."

"It usually is. Better for the kids, that is. No one wants to live in a house with that kind of tension in it all the time, even if there's the occasional break. That's almost even more cruel, it's easy to trick oneself into believing that this time, things will be different." And she sighed. Her relationship with her father had been borderline non-existent for years upon years. And then it turned out she'd very nearly been sold to cover gambling debts.

"Most of them do, yeah. Those whose identities aren't public knowledge. Some people, even in the twentieth century, could get away without keeping it a secret." Like pretty much everyone knew who the Flash really was, his villains too. I'm pretty sure I saw Captain Boomerang in line at Starbucks once.

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(CW: REALLY underage drinking)

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cw: alcohol and drug abuse

cw: alcohol and drug abuse, bambling

cw: alcohol and drug abuse, bambling

cw: alcohol and drug abuse, bambling, human trafficking