Emi Arizona muttered to herself as she worked around the still-unchristened bar at the Legendary's Super Base. "Darn Hellions wrecking the Moxie shipment," she said as she pulled out a bottle of Angostura bitters and a three-liter of generic root beer. Facing the back counter, she mixed the two with practiced motions that she'd picked up in Tokyo-3.
While she was concentrating on that, someone sat heavily at one of the barstools installed since the Paragon PD had oficially sanctioned heroes to use police scanners. She looked up into the mirror behind the bar and froze. A very familiar face sat at the bar. Familiar considering that she'd worn one very like it before waking in the Reiquarium.
"Barkeep!" he said genially. "A Ted Williams, please!"
She swallowed her shock and set about making the drink by copying her own and dropping in some grenadine as well. "I hope it's okay that I make it with root beer. We're out of Moxie."
"Out of MOXIE?" he asked, flabbergasted. "What sort of New England bar is out of Moxie?"
"Our shipment's delayed." She turned to present him with the beverage and triggered her costume crystal to reveal the outfit she'd worn when she arrived in Paragon. "Here you go, Logan."
A slight look of confusion crossed his face. "How did you..." His eyes widened in shock. "Emi?"
***
Evangelia arrived in a shower of teleportation sparks just as a loud slap and a stream of Japanese invective sounded from the base's bar. She hurried towards the disturbance, Allistair hot on her heels. She suddenly stopped as she collided with a representative of a Coaliton Supergroup. A handprint shone red on his face.
"What..." she began.
"Don't ask, Raye," he said. "Emi was upset with me and I deserved it." He sullenly walked to the telepad and punched in the code for Atlas Park."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
While she was concentrating on that, someone sat heavily at one of the barstools installed since the Paragon PD had oficially sanctioned heroes to use police scanners. She looked up into the mirror behind the bar and froze. A very familiar face sat at the bar. Familiar considering that she'd worn one very like it before waking in the Reiquarium.
"Barkeep!" he said genially. "A Ted Williams, please!"
She swallowed her shock and set about making the drink by copying her own and dropping in some grenadine as well. "I hope it's okay that I make it with root beer. We're out of Moxie."
"Out of MOXIE?" he asked, flabbergasted. "What sort of New England bar is out of Moxie?"
"Our shipment's delayed." She turned to present him with the beverage and triggered her costume crystal to reveal the outfit she'd worn when she arrived in Paragon. "Here you go, Logan."
A slight look of confusion crossed his face. "How did you..." His eyes widened in shock. "Emi?"
***
Evangelia arrived in a shower of teleportation sparks just as a loud slap and a stream of Japanese invective sounded from the base's bar. She hurried towards the disturbance, Allistair hot on her heels. She suddenly stopped as she collided with a representative of a Coaliton Supergroup. A handprint shone red on his face.
"What..." she began.
"Don't ask, Raye," he said. "Emi was upset with me and I deserved it." He sullenly walked to the telepad and punched in the code for Atlas Park."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll