ic One Night at Rusty's

[Sophistemon]

Sam felt his face grow warm with embarrassment. "You, ah, heard that," he said, slightly aghast. "I'm sorry, Lynn. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just... some old bitterness still hanging around, I guess. I'm sorry." He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So! Resurrection, huh? The greatest trick of all! You'll have to teach me that one; it must come in handy in your line of work." Inside, he was reeling. She was going to let him go through Al-Kazar's notes! His books and papers! And she was going to let him go through them alone, presumably unsupervised! Think of all that he could learn! His previous magical education had been slapdash at best -- a bit here, a piece there, nothing from the same source at the same time. If he could fill in the gaps of his knowledge, who knew just what he could accomplish?

[Heritage]

Grim laughed and shook her head. "Nah, seriously, don't worry about; why would you think I ever died?" She hopped up from her chair, which politely vanished; it seemed like she'd already recovered from whatever injuries she'd suffered. Pointing up at her pointed ears, she grinned. "Just remember these things are like satellite dishes; I mean yeah, I can't hear everything, but they pick up a lot."

 

The Shrike looked around the junkyard, hands on her hips. "Are we going to keep going or take a break? I could actually eat."

 

The changeling nodded. "Yeah, good call." She cupped her hands around her mouth and bellowed over to the trailer. "Hey Butch, what do we have for the contestants on our show tonight?"

 

Butch responded in an over-the-top announcer's voice.

 

"Tonight's guests will receive a delicious Italian dinner courtesy of Jo-Jo's Pizza and Pasta! Jo-Jo's Pizza, since 1993!"

 

 The man in the trailer killed the overhead speakers and then leaned out of the booth with a smile. "I got linguini and clam sauce, fettuccine carbonara and lasagna, plus three orders of garlic bread and mozzarella sticks. We got Coke, Sprite and Fanta to drink."

 

Gretchen licked her lips involuntarily. "Wow, that sounds amazing. Where do we eat?"

 

"C'mon up into the trailer, I gotta little table up in here." A side door opened, and the smell of tasty Italian takeout wafted out into the cold night air. A ramp led up to the door, and it was now visible that Butch was confined to a wheelchair, which was covered in old band and trade union stickers. "Mi soundbooth, su soundbooth."

Edited March 21, 2016 by Heritage

[Sophistemon]

Sam licked his lips at the mention of food, and then began actively salivating when Butch rattled off tonight's menu. "My God," he said tailing behind the women as they entered the trailer. "That smells amazing." He stopped, pausing slightly as he noticed Butch's impairment, but did his level best to avoid looking at the chair. Instead, he addressed the man directly. "This place is incredible," he said, repeating earlier sentiments. "I'm very impressed by what you've put together. How often do you all get together and do this sort of thing?"

[Heritage]

"Not often enough," said Butch with a laugh. Now that he was inside, Sam could see he was wearing black cowboy boots, well-worn jeans and a black motorcycle jacket; other than the bandana mask, he looked like an aging roadie for Bruce Springsteen. "We set all this up last fall, but we've only been out here, what, three, four times?"

 

"Four times." Grim was sniffing the three entrees in their aluminum serving trays, then shot Butch an annoyed glance. "None of these are remotely kosher."

 

The old tech shrugged. "Well, the garlic bread and mozzarella sticks are. Whadda you care, you can't eat any of it anyways!"

 

"That's not...nevermind. You guys, dig in."

 

The inside of the trailer was small, but cozy; a small card table and three folding chairs barely fit in the space, and the cooler with drinks (which also held a few bottles of Blue Moon) was within easy reach. The paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils gave the whole scene a picnic vibe, though the small space heater reminded everyone it was still winter. Everyone but Grim piled their plates high with delicious pasta while she grabbed one of beers and drank it quietly.

 

"So, ex-con, huh?" Butch inquired through a mouthful of linguini and clam sauce. "That's rough; gotta few buddies that did time. Glad to see you landed on your feet on the outside."

 

Meanwhile Grim and Shrike were exchanging meaningful glances.

 

-You're not going to eat?-

 

-He knows I keep kosher; even if I can't eat the real takeout, I like to share it, y'know?-

 

-But if you conjure up food, it's just glamour, right? You're not actually breaking kosher.-

 

-That would be cheating; I don't cheat, not at that. It's about...being mindful of what you put inside your body.-

 

-Wow. You really are a hardcore Jew.-

 

-Damn right, I am.-

 

-At least have some garlic bread. Break bread with me.-

 

-Fiiiiiine.-

 

The changeling rolled her eyes and reluctantly waved her hand, and a plate of garlic bread and cheese sticks appeared; she made a big show of taking a big bite of bread, which made the little barista smile.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Heritage

[Sophistemon]

Sam raised a finger and indicated his mouth -- he was already chewing. When he swallowed, he spoke. "Yeah, I've just finished a five year stay in Blackstone prison." The words feel like acid on his tongue, and he winced despite himself. "I suppose that I'm lucky, in a way. Maybe of my former, uh, peers are genuinely psychotic... or at least driven by obsessions that I don't have. I got there by making bad -- er, really bad -- decisions and I fixed that by starting to make good ones." He waved a hand towards the two girls. "Meeting these two helped. Once I got out, I mean... nobody hires 'cons at the best of times. But a former supervillain?" He blew air through his lips in a raspberry. "Forget about it. These two, though? Saints. Too good for this world."

[Heritage]

At the mention of the word 'saints', Butch nearly choked on his linguini as he started to laugh; it took him several seconds to recover, though he was still red in the face. "Oh man...'saints'! Yep, that was our little Sheri...always a saint."

 

Grim expertly whipped a mozzarella stick at him, nailing him right between the eyes.

 

"Ow, what was that for?!"

 

"To remind you that you've got a secret ID to maintain, 'Butch'; it's for your own protection."

 

"Alright, alright..."

 

Shrike frowned and cocked her head. "I don't know why your bothering with this, because he's obviously your dad. The accent and speech patterns are a dead giveaway, as is your shared love of loud music and violence."

 

Grim winced and shook her head, while Butch could only laugh out loud. "Oh man! Wow, she nailed you; you picked a good one, Sher!"

 

"Yes I did." Finally she sighed and threw up her hands in frustration. "Alright, f### it; masks off if you want 'em!" There were swirling mists and flashing lights, and Lynn and Gretchen were themselves again, whereas Butch merely had to pull off his bandana mask, looking somewhat sheepish but also excited.

 

"Dad, this is Gretchen and Sam; Gretchen and Sam, meet Harold 'Butch' Epstein, aka my dad." The bookseller buried her face in her hands and groaned while enthusiastic hand shakes and introductons were exchanged.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Heritage

[Sophistemon]

Presto grinned at the familial tit-for-tat and removed his own mask, which he returned to its interior pocket. He shook Harold's hand and said, "A pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Sam." He looked over at the women and rolled his eyes. "You watch," he told them. "I'm going to find a way to turn my suit into other clothes some day, and I'll be able to pull that off too."

[Heritage]

"Ayyy, nice to meet you, Prez! But please, call me 'Butch'; no one calls me Harold."

 

"It really is useful," Gretchen agreed as she daintily nibbled on her garlic bread. "I can't imagine what a pain it must be to have to lug around a costume all day, or worse, have to wear it under your street clothes." She shook her head in disgust.

 

Lynn shrugged as she eagerly dipped another mozzarella stick in marinara; despite her earlier protestations, she now seemed happy that the masks were gone. "Who knows, that might be something you find when you hit the magic books; it's a pretty common superpower, always has been." 

 

Butch pointed at the three heroes with a forkfull of linguini, his expression a bit more serious. "You guys be careful with all that old magic stuff; I've watched Evil Dead II like a thousand times, so I know a thing or two about it."

 

"Plus all those years of playing D&D," his daughter gently teased.

 

"You're damn right," he said with a burp as he thumped his chest with pride. "Seventeenth level paladin, took on Demogorgon and all six hundred sixty-six layers of the Abyss!" 

 

"You played a paladin? No way!"

 

"Yes way! Your Uncle Sid was a real sonovabitch when he sat behind that DM screen, let me tell ya; this one time, we came upon this cavern full of three hundred orcs, right? And they were fighting about a hundred fifty dwarves..."

 

As Butch began to recount his tale of adolescent adventure, his daughter clearly delighted, Gretchen leaned over to murmer into Sam's ear.

 

"I was serious about what I said earlier, but I am cruel but fair. I protect the few people I care about, but I'm not paranoid and I don't make false accusations. If we're going to do this thing together, we have to have each other's back, share what we find, and make every effort to keep everyone safe."

 

She paused to smirk as Lynn's dad got more and more animated in his descriptions, waving his hands about dramatically.

 

"After all, we don't have Brave Sir Butch to protect us."

 

She offered him her hand to shake.

 

"Deal?"

Edited January 11, 2017 by Heritage

[Sophistemon]

Sam grinned through his goatee, and the smile was genuinely pleased. As they discussed the costume, he raised both hands palm up. "It's not that uncomfortable," he explained. "It's a fitted suit that I've enchanted. But it does get a little... bulky, and it's not good for all seasons." He gestured to the jacket that he wore, in all of its slightly-ratty glory. He then looked at Butch. "I got into the series with Army of Darkness," he explained. "It was strange to go back and watch the earlier films, but I liked them. As for the books themselves, don't worry. I've gotten quite adept at delving into ancient knowledge; I know how to be careful." Time passed, and Lynn and her father began to discuss fictional adventures. When Gretchen began to whisper to him, Sam leaned in close to hear her better. He nodded when she'd finished. "Deal," he said, and shook her hand.