2544/Dancing with the Stars(

Dancing with the Stars(
Date of Scene:	22 September 2017
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	A night on the town at Club Zed is in order. And the stars are out. Well, depending on who you ask.
Cast of Characters:	Booster Gold, Taboo, Hoodlum, Karen Page, Spoiler, Ghost Spider, Black Canary

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Booster Gold has posed:
Club Zed is, at least temporarily, the hottest nightclub in New York.

This is a title that is fairly in flux, and predicated on the whims of the wealthy, the elite, and the cognoscenti of night life. Last month it was The Balcony; next month it will be somewhere else.

But at the moment, Zed is enjoying some notoriety with a surge of celebrity sightings. Several prominent musicans had been playing the venue, a popular jazz band had pulled an impromptu set, and even a few more well-beloved metahuman heroes were spotted by the papparazzi.

The club itself is split into two levels; a large, sprawling ground level with an illuminated dance floor flashing in a spectrum of colors divided into squares; and upstairs, a torus-shaped balcony that lets people look down at the mass of heaving flesh on the dance floor at any given time. It smells like booze, sweat, excitement, drugs, and expensive drinks almost all the time, but at least up on the upper balcony, it's quiet enough to hear people talking to one another.

Taboo has posed:
Sometimes a girl just has to have fun. Too much work, too much anything-but-fun makes life un-fun. And so it is that Amanda Reed has made her way to Club Zed herself. A bit of dancing maybe. A few drinks. Who knows. Just some time out to unwind and enjoy herself The redhead weaves her way toward the bar as she enjoys the music being played. She glances around, certainly, but there's no one here she knows - or that she realizes she knows, yet, anyway.

Hoodlum has posed:
And then there's tall, awkward Clarine. For all that her feet move with a certain amount of grace, for all the memories packed into that skull, she never quite FEELS graceful. She's tall enough, so she forwent any HEELED boots, but she's got some nice lengthy black ones. Some sort of long black jacket covers her shoulders. She could hide those darned blades under a teacup if she needed to, but it's way more comfy this way! A loose white blouse, a pair of black jeans, and she manages to show in one fell swoop no understanding of good club wear or modern fashion.

Still, she made an effort to go out and socialize. She even had her hair done, put on some jewelry... the works. So she sidles up to balcony once soda with grenadine is acquired and adroitly avoids doing the sort of thing that is the purpose of such a place: Dancing. It helps that things are much more quiet up there. Gives her time to gather her thoughts and appear appropriately broody.

Karen Page has posed:
It had been a rough couple of days since the water pipe broke in the basement where the law firm stored all of its files. And, because that's just the way things go, almost all of the boxes were paper. They'd cleared the worst of the damage, but it had been a long haul, and there were still to many files to put right. Danny was right, they really needed to digitize those things..

Thus it was that Karen threw caution - and pocketbook - to the wind and put on her (only) little black dress and headed out to Club Zed. She appreciated the humour of the name. Canadian joke. Even if that wasn't its intent.

The bouncer at the door gave her a once over and clicked the red rope aside letting her in, whereupon she headed immediately to the bar. "Gin and tonic." And once the order was in her hot little hands, she turned to check the place out. It had been far too long since she'd kicked back.

Spoiler has posed:
Getting into the hottest nightclub in New York does take some finesse. Either one has to be rich, famous, or favorably both to get in. It doesn't matter if the name changes as often as a baby changes a diaper, it is the simple matter that for now, at this very moment, only the best of the best can get in.

So how in the hell did Stephanie Brown get in?

It might be because Stephanie, despite her (relatively) lowly status as a college student, is a bit of a looker. Everyone knows that clubs let in the pretty ones, right? It also could be that Steph may have been sweet-talking the doorman into letting her in. She does seem to be a talker...and good at it, as well. Or...it could be that she came with a friend, and the doorman was sweet on her, rather than Stephanie. Regardless, here she is, inside the club with a lovely purple ensemble that is just perfect for dancing.

Steph turns to her friend, Dinah, flashing her a big grin. "Here I thought I was going to have to sneak into this place. Can you believe that the guy just waved us on through? It's amazing! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

So, yeah, Stephanie is a little excited. Just a bit.

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Chaos in the cities, all over the world, and so classes at Julliard are cancelled for the foreseeable future. Normally this would be bad, not being to use her meal plan card at one of the campus, but Gwen had been given an unexpected windfall of cash. Of course, instead of saving all of it like she should, she decides to use at least a little of it on a night out. She's not a little girl anymore, after all. Adults do these things.
    The bouncer looks at her ID dubiously, but does finally let her in. It's not even a fake! She actually is twenty-one. Since December. It probably doesn't hurt that she's not bad looking, either.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Hey! Yeah, hey, what's up? Yeah! It's me! Hey everyone!"

To the applause of almost no one, a big blonde fellow is cutting through the crowd. He looks and moves like a professional athelete, but he talks like someone who has one hell of an overinflated ego. An almost obnoxious, flowing dress shirt with large, upturned french cuffs glows a little oddly in the low light; pink and white texturing gives it a weird pallor, and he ruins the look of casual jeans by cuffing them up and rocking boating shoes.

And just to round it off, he's wearing louvered shades, though mercifully he sets them down to wink at a passing girl and promptly loses them.

"Yep, it's really me, try to contain yourselves," the fellow tells a pair of wide-eyed girls he passes.

"Oh my god!" one of them whispers breathlessly. "It's a superhero! I know him!"

"Yeah! That's Green Lantern, right?"

Michael Carter, aka Booster Gold, HERO OF THE 23RD CENTURY... sighs wearily, and bellies up to the bar near Karen.

"Hey, one of those... uh... pink drinks," Booster says, wiggling a finger at someone's Cosmopolitan. The bartender gives Booster a 'look', but takes his credit card before moving to whip a drink up.

Black Canary has posed:
    It's not often that Dinah heads for a club to unwind...but it's been kind of a long week. And Stephanie had done well in her latest practice and katas, enough that her teacher felt a reward was in order. Two birds, one stone...or one bird, two stones, or....something. It's not usually her kind of place, she tends to prefer live venues more than clubs, but hey, dancing is dancing.

    It's also possible that she got waved through because she's actually dressed in her Canary costume...the one that belongs to the lead singer of Ashes on Sunday, a moderately popular local metal band. So, tight royal blue top with a criss cross strap arrangement showing a generous amount of cleavage, very tight leather hot pants, fishnets, and a battered leather jacket, and a bit of makeup...enough to darken the eyes, to outline burgundy lips, and to go with the boots she wears, which lace up the front to about her knee. Shorter heel, but it's there....more for dancing than for style.

    "You haven't been here before?" she says, raising her voice over the noise inside as she follows Stephanie past the door.

Hoodlum has posed:
Oh, hey, look! Someone more awkward than she is! Clarine is of course, thinking of Booster Gold. So she saunters down off the balcony over to the bar to start operation: Talk to people. She approaches Booster, and nods to him, once again mis-identifying the man, as she gestures for a refill of her 'drink',"I love your kitsch, dude. Out and proud. It's pretty inspiring." Her voice has got a depth commensurate with her size, and if she's uncomfy-looking, well... She doesn't, at least, have a lot of trouble shouldering through the crowd. "Lemme guess... youtube star? Is it a channel I know?" Operation talk to people? Fail. "You are fierce." At least it's a compliment.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen's not starry eyed. Which might be in her favour here. When Booster orders his drink she looks him up and down and just shakes her head. "Pink? Really." Her features light up with laughter. "You're going to disappoint that gaggle of girls, you know. They probably expected something a lot more.. well, stronger. We'll say stronger." She lifts her gin and tonic to him in salute. "Cheers. Karen, by the way. And, no, I don't come here often. Yes you can buy me a drink. And if you wonder if I can dance, you'll just have to ask and find out."

It seems she put on her sassy underpants today.

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster turns to look at Clarine when she approaches him, and flashes a big Colgate grin at her, giving the woman a thorough 'how YOU doin', head to toe and ending eye to eye with her. Which is not something many people can say-- Booster's tall enough to play basketball but he's got the sort of shoulders reserved for a hockey thug.

"Yeah, y'know, I'm pretty well known in some circles," Booster says, with an utterly false modesty. "But y'know-- I guess I just feel kind of fearless," he admits, squaring his shoulders back a bit. "What've I got to be afraid of? I'm out there, like, every day, right? People see me, they go 'That's who I want to be'."

He laughs easily, "Well, I mean-- there's the ones who want to be me, and some who just plain want me," he says, with a salacious wink at the Amazonian woman.

He catches Karens' comment and looks around, a bit puzzled at her statement. "Hey, y'know, I'm just here to loosen up, have fun," he tells her. "I don't want to get drunk, y'know-- end up doing something I'll regret." Facing both women, he rests a palm on the bar and gives Karen the same appraisingly approving up-and-down. "Gotta stay on my toes, y'know? Always ready in case an opportunity jumps out at me to shine."

"I'm Michael, but you might know me better as Booster Gold," he says, deliberately raising his voice a little. "But call me Booster. Barman!" he tells the 'tender. "Drinks for these lovely ladies, on me," he says, floushing a thumb at his chest. "Booster Gold."

Spoiler has posed:
A head shake is given as Stephanie turns back to Dinah. "No, not really. I wanted to, but that was back when it was called The Foundation...which I think was a bit ago." She counts back on her fingertips. "One...two....three names ago, I believe. So, like...a month or two ago. But, then I got busy." 'Busy' in this case would refer to those extra-curricular activities of Stephanie's that Dinah knows all too well. "So, yeah, first time! Did you see how everyone was looking as we came in?" There is a laugh, then a wink. "Don't think they expected a metal singer to be walking into a nightclub without a band." Yes, Stephanie is familiar with the side-gig, it seems.

But, then Stephanie turns back around and looks out over the crowd. "Wow....there are a lot of people here." Stephanie Brown, mistress of the understatement. Her eyes fall over to the bar and sees nothing too impressive there, except for a weird walking fashion disaster in the form of a Booster Gold. He only receives a shrug, before Stephanie starts drifting towards the dancefloor proper. "This is considered training, right? We can call it 'Social Maneuvering' for a fancy title." Another wink is tipped to Dinah, along with a big old grin. Stephanie is certainly feeling good tonight.

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Gwen checks her little silk skirt, making sure it hasn't ridden up somewhere. Seems good. "Nothing wrong with pink." she says over the din. A smile to Booster. "You're a brave man." and she gives him a thumbs-up. Booster seems preoccupied speaking to the large woman, though.
    She spies Dinah and Steph, though and after a moment she moves through the crowd to try and intercept them. "Sorry!" she says at Dinah. "Are you in 'Ashes On Sunday'? I'm a big fan."

Black Canary has posed:
    "Kinetic Body Training...." Dinah suggests to Stephanie cheerfully, her gaze following the other girl's then narrowing just slightly as she spots Booster at th bar. Ah. Well. He seems distracted. She's probably safe! Besides...she's also definitely not Power Girl.

    "And this isn't exactly a metal scene..." she says amusedly, looking over the crowd. "Looks like a packed house though." She's about to say something else when Gwen pops up out of the crowd as Dinah blinks, then smiles. "That's me..." she says easily to the blonde girl, offering a hand. "Canary. Pleased to meet you." Yes, she didn't bother picking a tremendously original name for her musical persona.

Taboo has posed:
Amanda Reed slows up at the bar and waits her turn for the bartender's attentions. It gave her just enough time to decide on something fruity. She glances down the bar a few spots to where Booster Gold himself is present. And already with plenty of girls hanging around him it seems like. She rolls her eyes in spite of herself and just watches, a smirk on her lips. It only disappears when her drink arrives and she pauses to take a quick sip from it.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen shrugs, still smiling over her drink as Booster makes introduction and puts her tab on his. "I like Michael better," she observes. "Tell you a secret, though.." She nods at his Cosmopolitan with her chin, and smirks, "Those girly drinks have a lot more alcohol than your average shot or beer." Clarine gets a nod as well, "Hey. Karen."

Hoodlum has posed:
The girl blushes as an ACTUAL drink is furnished to her. Then again, what the heck? Why not. Worse comes to worst, her liver takes an hour or two to heal. She accepts more foofy pink drink, and then Clarine is pouring booze down her throat. And coughing, and sputtering. Poor thing's not used to flirting of any kind so she just sort of bulldozes over it. Probably for the best when dealing with Mr. Gold. Clearly with the pink shirt and flashy jewelry, it only LOOKS like flirting, right? "And generous to boot. You're going to make some young men here very happy tonight. And more than a few sad." She looks over Booster's shoulder to Karen, then says,"Oh em gee He's adorable. Isn't he adorable? Adorable. Clarine. Or Clair. Whatevs."

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Gwen accepts Canary's offered hand. She's not squeezing, but Dinah can probably feel anyway that the young woman is strong. A lot longer than she looks, at the very least. Amazonian-strong, maybe? "Nice to meet you. Sorry to fangirl you here when you came to have fun. I'll leave you alone. I'm Gwen, by the way." the blonde doesn't seem to be leaving Canary alone at all. "I know all the drum parts in all of Ashes' songs. SO, if you ever have auditions for a backup emergency drummer, I'll be the first one in the door." good way to get a gig, huh?

    "Sorry. Uh... have fun." and she turns on her heel to try to flee to the bar.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary raises a brow at the strength in the hand, curiosity in her eyes now. She grins a bit. "It's cool. Nice to meet you Gwen." She adds. "You don't need to run off though? It's fine. Steph and I were just checking the place out. You've been here before?" She pauses. "And you're a drummer? What band?" she adds thoughfully. She's not against another drummer in the wings....not like she's touring at the moment, but if they do pull a gig and there's an emergency...

Booster Gold has posed:
"Ah, y'know-- it's a branding thing," Booster admits to Karen. For just a moment, his classless bravura seems a little uncertain how to manage her rather kind compliment, but have no fear, ladies! His ego rallies moments later to his defense and he grins at Karen again.

Catching Dinah looking at him, Booster looks back at the girl in the fishnets, and winks at her bawdily and without any self-consciousness, obviously assuming her narrow-eyed gaze is a sultry come-hither.

"Well, y'know, I try to keep myself fit, too," Booster remarks, lifting up his shirt to show off his flatpacked abs to the entire bar. "Beer's just empty carbs, I gotta try and stay fit and trim for my adoring audience. Looootta guys look at me and they're like, 'man, that's more than I can handle'," Booster tells Clarine, grinning at her rosy-cheeked reaction to his bad college frat-house flirting technique. "But hey, y'know, I like to think I'm here to help the guys out. Reach over, give them a hand, y'know? Let them know that with the right attitude, anyone is attainble-- you've just gotta dress right and have /moxy/," he says, tugging at his too-high shirt collar.

Clarine's implication sails right under Booster's ego-- like ships passing in the night.

Booster reaches for a drink when the bartender brings it over-- but then looks over and sees Amanda drinking it! "Hey! You just stole my drink!" Booster protests.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie was going to go out to the dancefloor...but the sudden appearance of a fan for Dinah pauses the excursion to Kinetic Body Training. A smile crosses over her features as she steps back, spins around, and ends up behind Dinah, with Gwen in view. "Well, it certainly doesn't look like a metal crowd...but it seems like there are some fans." Steph offers a wave to Gwen from behind Dinah, offering up her own greeting, delaying that retreat to the bar. "Hiya! I'm Steph. Not a musician or anything cool like that." Not missing a beat, she picks up on the drumming bit and runs with it. "You're a drummer? I bet that's fun as hell! I can do the drums on those video games and all...but only because no one else seems to wanna. They all go for those fake guitars." As Dinah speaks, Stephanie does have the foresight to stop her chatter.

Which is probably a good thing. Steph would have kept talking otherwise.

Karen Page has posed:
The girl can't be for real. Karen watches Clarine fall all over herself (and Booster) in one fell swoop, and down her drink in another. The younger woman is blinked at as Karen works hard at not laughing at her. She's not even sure she remembers being that young. Not that she's an old biddy by any means, but wow. Clarine is young, and it shows.

And while Clarine's implication flies right over Booster's head, it doesn't Karen's. Leaving the poor woman pressing her lips together tightly to keep from embarrassing them all while he natters on jovially about image and moxy and how 'you too can attain!'.

It's something of a losing battle, though, when he loses his drink. "Branding, huh? Well, I suppose this really isn't the place for un-marketing yourself." Who is she kidding? She's the one in the tight little black dress, the four inch heels, and underwear that cost a month's salary.

Taboo has posed:
Amanda Reed takes a sip of her drink then pauses to consider it. "Whoa. Yeah. Going to be flat on the floor if I drink too many of these. Sooo good." She puts it down after two more sips and writes that one off, heading toward the dance floor instead. Just enough liquid courage to get out there. But then she's bumped into by some big lunk who has three left feet. It knocks her into the Gwen-Dinah-Steph gathering and makes her look like she's got her own set of left feet. "ow...! damn it!" she glares back at the guy who doesn't even seem to realize he's run into any one. Looking back to the women she sighs, "Uh... sorry? Everyone okay other than my dignity and gracefulness?"

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah moves with suprising quickness and grace in a deft flicker of movement as Amanda comes barrelling into the group, stopping her and supporting her for a moment until she seems able to stand on her own. "You okay?" she says, looking amused. "No problem. I think that guy had a lot more than you, from the look of it..." she notes as she glances over to said left foot haver.

Hoodlum has posed:
It's kind of like watching a baby tiger hunt a near-sighted elephant. The elephant doesn't know what's going on, and tiger is very ferocious in its own mind. She pokes at the be-bared abs, cheeks in high rose at this point,"Oh. Em. Gee. You must like, live on kale and pushups. You must be surrounded by guys wanting a piece of that! Oh! I know a guy I have to introduce you to. He does hair like nobody's business. He's totally into six-packs. You would totes hit it up. It's like, banaynay." She oohs and aaahs over a the abs in question, then looks over at Karen,"Cosmos are empty calories anyway, he's better off if he's watching his figure. Hunter on the prowl! Rowr!" She smiles at Karen, then and looks down at her drink... before pouring it down her throat. And proceeding to cough. Loudly. Not used to that!

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Gwen stays put, then. "Okay." Still, she's a little flushed. Embarassment, likely. "Have I been here before? No, but I heard about it. I didn't think they were going to let me in anyway, but I guess this was my lucky night." She gives Steph a wave in return.

    "I had a band, back home. But since I got here I haven't had a ton of time. I'm going to Julliard, so at least I don't go crazy not having a way to let the music out, y'know?"

    Gwen's back is to Amanda and so doesn't see the other woman almost falling into her. But somehow she dodges, bonelessly twisting her uppe torso bullet time-like for a moment and so Amanda goes past her to be caught by Dinah. "Whoa! Are you alright?!"

Taboo has posed:
Amanda Reed straightens herself. "Yeah.. yeah I'm okay.. Though somehow he managed to spill a drink on me even without seeing me..." She looks to Dinah and Steph and Gwen, "Wow... the blonde posse.. I'm totally out of my league.." She offers a grin "I'll buy you ladies drinks just as soon as I get back from trying to wash some of this beer out of my top..? Promise."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen just has to look away. It's like watching a trainwreck. Or an accident at the side of the road. It's that or laugh outright at the fangirling. At least she's got her drink she can bury some of her amusement in.

Of course, turning away, she gets to see Amanda go sprawling as machismo dude with too many under his belt goes barrelling on by her without looking. It keeps her attention long enough to settle the urge to giggle. Of course, there's Clarine choking on her drink, which has Karen's attention again. "Hey, you okay over there?" She looks for napkins. She's not sure why. They just seem to be what you should have on hand when someone is sputtering over their drink.

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster's English is comprehensible, but... well, there's a subtle Canadian influence there, for an astute ear. A little Latino, too, maybe? But it's pretty clear he understands precisely none of Clarine's innuendo. He grins at Karen. Her little black dress isn't lost on him, despite what -Clarine- suspects, and he sure doesn't mind the Amazon groping him.

"Well, y'know, I played semipro ball in college," Booster says with that same casual, false modesty. "Lotta dudes looked at me like the guy to catch. I was always out in front, ahead of the pack. Gotta be lead dog, or you're stuck staring at someone else's butt."

"Blitzball," he clarifies. "I was a forward point half-- but y'know, I wasn't afraid to go both ways," he tells the woman. "Sometimes there's a lot of guys on the pitch and y'know, you might have too much coverage, but that means sometimes you see someone you've gotta get down so you make your line and pin him down, right?" he says, pursing his lips into a smirk and uplifting his chin.

"I don't really need a hair guy, though, it just like... dries like this," Booster says, tugging his fingers through his thick blonde curls.

"So it's.... Karen, right? And Clarine? What brings you lovely ladies out to a swinging good time like this hep cat joint?"

He wiggles his fingers at the bartender for another drink for Clarine. "And, uh, give me a double of... whiskey," he says, a little lamely, trying to be nonchalant about shifting to a 'harder' liquor.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie wasn't exactly in Amanda's way, what with Dinah in front of her to catch Amanda. She is, however, in a prime spot to deal with the lumbering brute that caused the run-in initially. With a barely perceptible movement, a heel pops out, catching the offender in the ankle. Not hard at all, but enough to send him veering off towards what appears to be the restrooms....away from the dancefloor and bar. It could even have been considered an accident for those watching. After all....it is so crowded. But....those in the know may see it different.

Not that the college girl will admit to any of it.

"Hmm...don't worry about it. I am just glad nothing worse happened." Of course, off Amanda goes, so the modesty is wasted for the moment. She does turn back to Dinah and Gwen. "Blonde posse, hmm? Cute."

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah looks bemused as Amanda wanders off. "Hmm....I don't usually get offered drinks for catching people." she says thoughfully, though her eyes are on Gwen now. Oh, she saw that dodge. If there's anything Dinah is good at reading, it's body language, and a movement like that...well. That speaks of either a great deal of training and situational awareness or...something else. "...I guess we are a blonde posse though." she adds with a faint grin as Steph sends the palooka in question stumbling away off the dance floor. "Oddly I don't usually hang with other blondes that often."

Ghost Spider has posed:
    "Blonde posse?" Gwen says with a laugh. "I haven't had a posse since I left home." she says. "It's kinda cool." She gives Stephanie a thumbs-up after seeing what she did to help the intoxicated gentleman on his way. "I'm just glad there's a place with power and running water."

Hoodlum has posed:
"Go... uh... Sportsball! I'm really enthused about... our team! New York is the best?" She doesn't really follow sports, so in this, SHE is the clueless one. She doesn't know that blitzball isn't a thing in this day and age. She is RAPT with the man's description of his... conquests on the field. "That's cool. Out and in sports. You don't see that often. I'm on a semester break. Pre-med. I'm a bio-nerd." A laugh as she finally settles on a stool, taking the napkins so she can cough into them all daintily and stuff. "I'm not really... used to drinkin-" She gets a far-off look. Memories of swilling airag that aren't hers. An inn covered in blood while men laugh over cups of wine. A moment of terror as alcohol-dulled senses and reflexes take in the sight of a blade descending towards her neck... The girl sets her drink down very suddenly, napking to her mouth, and heaves as if trying not to retch up everything she just drank.

The girl holds up a finger as if to say 'one moment' and begins hurrying through the crowd for the bathroom. No vomming on the dancefloor.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen mms, cluing in belatedly that she's being addressed, and in time to notice Booster's change of drink. It earns him an amused arch of brow, but no comment. "Me?" There's an airy breath of nonchalant exhale. "You really don't want to know the real reason." She smirks, and tucks a wayward strawberry blonde curl back behind an ear and looks thoughtful. "Okay, how about this.. I'm a talent agent for Radar360. Let me guess you've never heard of them."

When he pauses to check her out, she does what any self-respecting female out on the town would do, and pulls her shoulders back to accentuate the girls, and does a little index finger tuck in the cleavage. "Not bad. You remembered both our names..." Her voice drifting off as the younger Clarine goes from perky okay to losing her lunch in short order.

"Oh, Balls!" Sighing, she puts her half-empty drink down on the bar. "Watch this, will you? Someone should check on her." She heads off after Clarine.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Oh, uh... yeah, I was going to go pro," Booster says to Celine, a little confused by her sudden lack of interest. Also, Karen is kind of blatantly sending the sort of 'come hither' signals that short the brain of any red-blooded Canadian young man, and Booster's a few pebbles short of a rock collection as it comes.

"Yeah, I-- huh? What?" he says, as Celine suddenly dashes off. He blinks in confusion, and opens his mouth to speak to the girls-- er, Karen's girls-- er, Karen-- but she's rushing off too.

Both women get a confused (but appreciative) look as they retreat, and he turns to give the bartender a confused look. But the bartender's gone, too!

Booster sighs and sips his whiskey, then makes a face and retches, himself.

"Oh my god! That is /terrible/," he says, gagging. He glances around, then steals Karen's drink to wash the bitter tast of peat-infused bourbon from his mouth.

Momentarily abandoned, he turns around to go back to looking at Dinah, and flickers a wink at her again, moving to rest his elbow on the bar behind him. He misses, slips, staggers, and almost falls over, recovering and looking around with feigned nonchalance to make sure no one saw him.

Spoiler has posed:
"I didn't even have a posse before. So...yeah, might be fun." A smirk just curls the corners of Stephanie's lips, just enough to accentuate the joke, before she catches sight of a hurried rush to the ladies' room. Fortunately, the patron she tripped up managed to land in front of the men's room door, which is exactly where Stephanie intended him to go, freeing up the women's room for the two. A glance back to see Dinah with that smile of hers and a thumb's up from Gwen causes Stephanie to try to play the innocent. "What?"

Of course, that doesn't play well for long. With a slight blush, Steph shifts on her feet. "Saw that, huh? Here I thought I was going to get away with it without anyone noticing." Then, that smile slowly creeps onto her features. "But, did you see that shot? Staggered right where he was supposed to go." Training is paying off!

Hoodlum has posed:
Karen will find the tall gal hunched over a toilet stall, hurking her guts up. With a couple of more adroitly dressed young ladies standing near the wall looking on and muttering to each other. She's feeling a little on the spot. Plush she's sort of crying. Ugly crying. Like 'some dude just spilled a cosmo-tini on her four hundred dollar dress' and her dog got run over and oh by the way, her car got keyed and she ran out of booze AND starbucks. Yeah. Her makeup, subtle as it is... is kind of wrecked. Raccoon eyes.

Karen Page has posed:
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.. well, something like that. Overdeveloped sense of worrying about others, that's what it is. Or she wouldn't be here checking on Clarine, and holding the other girl's hair back while she upchucks. Not that Karen *really* minds. It wasn't like she was up to much of anything but idle cflirting and chitchat. And even the flirting wasn't flirting once it was pretty clear that Booster had fangirls and that probably got old really fast.

Except for the flaunting the girls bit. That? That was pure feminine wiles. And that mostly because such things were always lost on Matt..

"Hey, not really my business and all, but you might want to stick to soda water, huh? Nobody is gonna think worse of you for it. And, hell, don't cry. Everyone has nights like this. C'mon. Let's wash your face and see if I've got something in my purse to fix you up a bit."

She sends mental thanks to the bright light who steered that oaf away from the ladies' door, letting Clarine get in here before things got messier out there.

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah nods, getting a more sober look at Gwen's reminder of the recent attacks. She's been out in the midst of it for days. And was pretty well ordered to go take some R&R time before she'd be assigned out again. Or at least, that the other Leaguers could handle it long enough to let her wind down before she's back into it. Not that Dinah particularly liked the idea, but...mmm. No, she's not going to think about that, for a little bit more at least.

    "It was a good shot...very low key, good form on figuring out how he'd fall." the blonde bombshell notes with a professional eye, grinning a bit. "Well done." She looks at GWen thoughfully. "So..where are you from? And what kind of band were you part of?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
    "Good shot." Gwen says to Steph. "Right in the corner pocket." She brushes a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, and then Dinah asks her questions. "Me? I'm from..." and she tries to think of a place... "Atlanta. Right. I'm from Atlanta." the rest of the answer isn't a lie, though. "Just kind of a poppy rock, maybe a little weird. 'Uglypunk' we liked to call it. I kinda miss just being able to jam, though. Now I'm not sure I even have an apartment anymore... and I had to leave my drums behind when I came here, so I don't have anything to play on except at Julliard."

    She looks towards the bar. "Did you see that? That big blonde guy was talking to that tall girl and then she ran off to the bathroom. Do you think he might have..." and she starts stalking towards Booster.

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster drums his fingers on the bartop, frowning. He looks around. Despite his blustering mien, there really is a (small) bit of selflessness to the man; besides, Clarine and Karen aren't hard on the eyes, and their sudden departure was a little worrying. Also, now he just looks like some kind of /creep/, sitting at the bar by himself!

He walks away from the bar, headed to the bathrooms, and without pausing breezes into the women's restroom, a few paces ahead of Gwen.

"Hey, where's the party-? ...oh no, are you sick?" Booster asks Clarine's back, looking dismayed. "Geeze. You gotta be careful about the booze," he tells her. "It can kinda hit you hard if you aren't used to it, eh?" he informs her, nodding sympathetically.

"/Excuse me/," one of the women at the sink says, glaring daggers.

Booster looks at her. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure, no problem," he says, pulling a pen from his pocket. He walks up and wiggles his pen across a small trading card with BOOSTER GOLD printed over his masked superhero costume, featuring his trademark grin and thumbs-up, and hands it to her. "Always nice to meet a fan. Anyone else need something signed?" he says, wiggling his pen around.

At that moment, Gwen pops up next to him, and the swooping pen inscribes a 'BG <3' a few inches left of her sternum. "Anyone else?" he asks with a blissfully unaware grin.

Hoodlum has posed:
Eventually the girl finishes throwing up, and then she's smiling wanly at Karen as she stumps to the sink to begin washing her face. She's got a much more... plain, pale look when washed of it. A little too angular, jawl a little too masculine. She looks at her appearance turning her head left and right. It's not embarrassment on her face, though. It's... pain of a different sort. She murmurs,"I'm not... some times I remember things... Things I didn't know happened. And when that alcohol went down, it was just like..." She makes an exploding motion with her hand,"Kablooey. I'm sitting here, having drinks with this rad lady and this cute little gay dude and all the sudden I feel like having a panic attack. I'm like, a hot mess. Soda. Yeah. Soda is where I'm gonna life for now."

She reaches for a paper towel to dry her face then looks at Karen with a smile,"Look at you. Five minutes of chatting and you're already helping me out. I don't suppose you have some concealer in there? I already made a scene out there. I'd hate to look like an even bigger doody-head." Oh. Wait. There's Booster. She's absolutely cool with gay men. She informs Gwen and the offended woman,"Don't worry. It's super rude, but he's as straight as a circle." She makes a shooing motion, as one would a puppy, to Booster,"Like, super-mega-gay."

Spoiler has posed:
For whatever reason, the praise from Dinah actually causes Stephanie to blush. Just slightly, but enough to be noticable. "Thanks..." The blush is quickly covered with a turn of the head as Steph looks out over the dancefloor. There might have been a desire to go out there, but it is clear that Steph is listening to Gwen...and paying attention.

So, when Gwen heads over towards the blonde showboat that is Booster, Stephanie follows with her eyes. And...when he signs on her, the smile shifts to a look on consternation, as Stephanie considers just how much she wants to make a scene dealing on Gwen's behalf.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen traipses after Clarine as the younger girl heads to the sink to wash up, only to get a pained 'oh honey' look on her face as Clarine declares Booster gay. "Concealer. A bit of lipstick. It'll double as rouge.. no mascara. Sorry. You don't want to share that stuff anyway that's just asking for an -"

Which is about when Booster pushes in and the female posturing in the girls room begins, someone's loud "Excuse me!" having Karen turn in time to see Booster not only in the ladies room, but signing autographs. Worse, he's signing Gwen's cleavage - not that she knows Gwen, but time and place, buddy. Time. And place.

"Just a minute, hon." Her clutch is thrust at Clarine. "Use what you need. Someone needs to talk to Captain oblivious over there."

Her steps a quick march over, "Uh.. Michael? Did you miss the sign on the door that said Ladies?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Gwen pops into the bathroom after Booster. "Wait! Did you put something in..." and then the big guy scrawls on her decolletage. Good going, Spidey-sense. Well, it's true that this isn't exactly a 'danger', right?

    She blinks, unbelieving what just happened. Gwen looks at Booster, down to his scribble, back to his face, back to her chest. Her eyes get wide and she reaches out for his pink shirt and lifts him off clean off the ground, despite him being a good foot taller than she is. Gwen shakes the hero but good, her eyes blazing. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster's busy signing boobs and handing out autographs-- until he hears Clarine clarify 'some things' to him. A look of shock crosses his face. "Wh- what-- I'm not--"

And then Karen is suddenly aggressing at him with a holy **** no-nonsense look, which is about 80% terrifying and 20% arousing. Booster looks a little bewildered, and slightly cowed by Karen's scathing words. He looks around, slow realization dawning on his features.

AND THEN GWEN GRABS HIM! He's up in the air, and starts trying to offer a composed, rational clarification of the situation.

"GLACK!" he declares, eloquently. Death looms, and Booster grips Gwen's wrist. "Skeets! SKEETS!" he shouts. Whatever that means.

With death burning in Gwen's eyes, Booster composes his final words.

"I'M NOT GAY!" he shouts, which probably does nothing to improve his position whatsoever.

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah blinks as Gwen goes stalking off...then her eyes narrow, before she facepalms as Booster signs. "...oh for cripes sake..." she mutters, starting to move that direction.

    And then Gwen just lifts Booster up into the air.

    Blue eyes widen at that....and perhaps she moves juuuuuust a bit faster, though not TOO fast.

    He kinda deserves it, after all, but still...he IS a Leaguer. And not...horrible. There are a lot of words she COULD use to describe him, but none of them would ultimately prevent her from stepping in to the ladies room.

    "Gwen...put him down. Please." she says with a sigh, hands on her hips. "...he probably wasn't thinking."

Hoodlum has posed:
Wait... Booster isn't gay? A look of horror flits over her face,"OH MY GOD, GET OUT OF HER YOU PERVERT! THIS IS WHERE WOMEN MAKE BOOM-BOOM!" Did she just say... What? Clarine is young. Very young sometimes. A hand reaches behind her back and underneath her jacket, fingers wrapping around the axe buried back there reflexively. She lets it go a moment later. Nope. Not reaching for a murder weapon here! Then she realizes what she said and covers her mouth.

Karen's purse in hand, she scuttles for a retreat in one of the stalls and slowly closes the door. *CLICK* goes the lock.

Right.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen supposes she should have some pity for the man, but really? He asked for it. Celebrity or not, one does not just go signing a girl's chest without permission. And now that Gwen's got him in her grips, it's pretty clear that she was most definitely the wrong person to learn that lesson with.

And then it all falls apart. He's yelling he's not gay. Some other woman is screaming at him that we make boom-boom in here..

"Would. Everyone. SIMMER. The. Ever. Loving. Hell. DOWN!" She might not look it, but boy the girl can project.

"You!" she points at Booster. "We do not sign women. You're lucky your boys are intact."

"You," she points at Gwen. "Nice job, but we don't leave bruises on famous patrons. They sue." She knows for suing. She works at a law firm.

"YOU!" she points at Dinah. "Actually, other than the Boom-boom.. you're fine. Carry on. Just.. no more boom boom. We're grown-ups." Missing Clarine's retreat and steathly reach for a weapon. Which is likely just as well.

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Dinah's words and Karen's seem to filter through the red fog in Gwen's vision and she doesn't toss him through a wall. Instead she very carefully and deliberately sets him back on his feet. She stands there for a few beats, seething. The little heart emoji Booster drew on her chest heaves up and down with her deep calming breaths.

Booster Gold has posed:
It's at that moment that a flying, humming object that looks a little like a gold-plated traffic cone zips into the bar and flickers towards the women's room. It hovers in place near Booster's shoulder.

"Hello sir! What seems to be the trouble?" the drone remarks.

Booster actually ducks and hides /behind/ the 12" tall flying drone the second Gwen sets him down. "Skeets! These femems here are all matarme y todos toes savvy I'm gay and what the frelling bell is a lady's room and why can't I be in it!" Booster babbles, gripping Skeets and holding him in front of him like a shield-- until he backs into Dinah. He yelps, leaps sideways, and puts his shoulders to the wall.

"Hello ladies! I am Skeets, Mister Gold's artificial intelligence assistance!" Skeets says, in an obnoxiously cheery voice despite the tension in the room, and not complaining about being made into a meatshield. "I am here to inform you that Mister Gold is a registered superhero from the 24th century. As a superhero from the distant future, Mister Gold is always pleased to make new friends, and he appreciates primitive screwheads like you accomoating his more refined sense of social awareness," Skeets remarks, brightly. It all sounds... a little rehearsed. Like this isn't the first time Skeets delivered that precise speech.

"I hope that settles things! I really don't want to have to use my laser on anyone," Skeets remarks, cheery-toned.

"Yeah!" Booster remarks from behind Skeets.

"Because it is almost /entirely worthless/ and I don't like hurting people!"

"DAMNIT SKEETS."

Very, very carefully, Booster does NOT stare at his handiwork on Gwen's busom. One brush with death is enough for tonight.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary tilts her head, her lips parting as Karen lays down the law, a certain part of her admiring the force she can put into those yelled commands. If anyone understands projecting your voice, it's Dinah, after all. She looks a bit bemused as the other woman takes charge, then lets out a faint *woof* of breath as Booster backs into her, then folds her arms as Skeets offers a well-rehearsed and polite blanket apology.

    She just...facepalms. Again. And rubs her face, before she folds her arms across her chest, then rummages in her purse, offer Gwen some makeup wipes. "Don't know if this will get it off, but best to try before it dries.." she says absently, frowning darkly at Booster. "...maybe a more DIRECT apology to the lady for marking on her would be nice." She points at Skeet. "Not you." Her finger moves to the cowering Booster. "Him." She sighs. "...and we can put this behind us and get you the hell out of the ladies room...which is where the ladies go. Not the men." she clarifies, for Booster's benefit.

    She's at least trying to be patient.

Hoodlum has posed:
From the bathroom stall: "Who the hell owns an apology-bot? How often do you end up apologizing? Wait. Nevermind." The girl is working on her makeup in a bathroom stall. Without more than a compact to do her face, she mostly comes out looking like a clown. At least she's not about to hack anyone to death! So. You know... positive things. Right. She looks at Booster and clarifies to him, speaking in that sort of loud voice that people use with foreigners,"BEING IN HERE IS ILLEGAL FOR YOU. YOU ARE BREAKING THE LAW." Right. She points at Dinah as if that clarifies things, then shuffles over as if to hide behind Karen. Then she looks over at Gwen as she holds out the purse to its rightful owner,"Thanks for the rescue."

Karen Page has posed:
It doesn't take long for Karen to realize she's silenced the entire room. That is until Booster calls for Skeets - which, fortunately, doesn't set off another round of who is killing who in the ladies room. Sort of Clue for a whole new generation. Best of all, Gwen didn't kill the man.

Karen makes a mental note that she needs to call that one aside and thank her later. Even if she did yell at her. Karen gives a mental snort - he actually signed her chest like she was some sort of groupie. With a heart even.

Although SKEET does make a few things clearer. Booster didn't get it because he just wasn't one of us.. Which is about when Clarine's comment floats out from behind her, and Karen giggles.

"Right. Okay, everyone, here's how it's going to go down.." A nod to Dinah, "You help her get that mess off her chest." Another nod to Clarine, "You. No more booze. And cut the man some slack. He's gay remember?"

Her lips purse with mirth as she tells Booster in no uncertain terms, "Until you step outside that door over there, you're gay, so shut up. Got it, mister? Now apologize for signing the nice lady, and then we're all going to march out there and get us a table in the VIP room where you're going to buy us drinks until we're all happy again, got it?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Gwen scrubs at her chest with the offered makeup wipes. Some of it comes off but some of it smears, so 'BG<3' ends up looking more like 'BOOB'. WHen she realizes this, she looks at Dinah, exasperated, though not at the older woman. Then she looks into the mirror, at the rightly nervous Booster. She clenches her hand again.

    "Must. Control. Fist. Of. Death." she mutters.

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah mmphs, then peers at the spot, before she stalks over to Booster, then holds out her hand. "Give me the marker." she says. Steady tone.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Moosetaint, -fine-!" Booster groans, rolling his eyes. He hastily passes the marker to Dinah. "I'm /sorry/! I thought she wanted an autograph! She threw her chest underneath my pen! You people are as bad as the Wiccan-Adventists! It's like I backed into a Reformed Orthodox purity conclave," he mutters, hastily shuffling to the door. It swings shut behind him, and he gives Skeets a baffled look.

Booster stands akimbo, looking completely dumbfounded. "I don't get it, Skeets!" he complains. "What the frak is a lady's room? I thought it was a lavatory! All those toilets were in there, right?"

Skeets thinks it over. "Ah! I think I know what the problem is, sir," Skeets chirps. "It was historically traditional for women of nobility and refinement to have a room for their ladies-in-waiting. You must have blundered into the antechamber of some duchess or aristocrat!"

A look dawns on Booster's face. "Oh, right! Yeah, the early Canadian Royal Family," he remarks. "They're around this time period, aren't they? Well, shnark," he says, looking much cheerier. "That's not great, but hopefully they don't take it the wrong way," he says, moving to the VIP lounge area. He flashes his knockoff Justice League ID at the bouncer. "Remember when they used to execute people by throwing them off the CN Building?"

"Hi, Booster Gold, Justice League," he says, mumbling *junior affiliate* under his breath. "Table for me and half a dozen ladies, and send over your finest synthehol!"

"Our... what?" the bouncer says blankly.

"Uh... I mean, some drinks, for the ladies," he says. "Something... uh... fruity? How about like a pitcher of... uh... iced tea, with some booze in it," Booster remarks, before moving to claim a seat. His defeated, bewildered expression is almost entirely gone by the time the ladies get to the table.

Black Canary has posed:
    The marker is handed over, and Dinah pauses to make sure Booster is actually leaving, and taking his shiny friend with, watching him with narrowed brows, before she sighs, then turns back to Gwen. "...okay hon." she says simply. "That's not coming off. I can at least cover it up with something that looks better than...uh..." She motions to the 'boob' on the....well, boob. "...label." She peers at Karen. "I mean, I'm not an artist, but could do something like...a heart or....guitar or something?"

Karen Page has posed:
Karen has no more words. None. Wiccan-Adventists? Throwing people off the CN building, "CN-Tower, you dolt," she mutters under her breath. "Tower. Second tallest freestanding building in the world."

Dinah and Gwen are given an apologetic look. "Let me see if I can do anything with it. We can make it look like some tattoo. Or throw some concealer at it. Your choice." They get a weak smile. "Karen, by the way. Karen page. And the tall clueless one who started this mess is Clarine. Uh.. sorry about the yelling. Someone had to take charge. Preferably someone not invested in killing the man." She can't help an amused snort as that last bit is tacked on.

Hoodlum has posed:
Clarine looks in the mirror after an uneasy gaze back at booster... And begins removing makeup when she realizes she looks like a clown. She pares it down to a reasonable look and stares into the mirror for a moment. She makes kissy motions at the mirror, then says,"Too bad he's completely insane. He's actually pretty cute. And he's tall. You have any idea how hard it is to meet guys my height? Then again... that kind of crazy is contagious." She plays with her hair for a moment, then wiggles fingers at the other girls,"She's not wrong. I don't really... DO alcohol. Just so we're clear... We're all ignoring how crazy strong she is, right?" This, pointing at Gwen. Then she's fishing in her jacket pocket for a scarf which she holds out,"Here. I use this when I'm feeling extra shy, but I think you need it more."

Ghost Spider has posed:
    Booster exits, stage left. Good for him, he does it under his own power. She nods to Dinah, her shoulders slumping a little as she loses her overexcitement. "I guess a guitar or something would look alright for now. I'll just wear something with a higher neckline for a while."

    She manages a smile for Karen. "Thanks. I'm Gwen." At Clarine's comment about Gwen's strangth the blonde just waves a hand. "It was just adrenaline, yeah." As for the offer of the scarf. "I think it's just as thr wrong spot for that to help much. I appreciate it, though."

Black Canary has posed:
    Dinah hmms, then shrugs and offers the marker to Karen, trusting that she's a better artist at least. "Knock yourself out...I think just about anyting is better than that." She shakes her head. "What strength?" Dinah says dryly. "Didn't see a thing. Perfectly normal blonde girl pushed to her limits. Adrenaline and all that."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen, for her part, chooses to ignore the discussion about Gwen's man-lifting feat. It's not like there aren't enough super-humans running about here and there. What's one more. She's just grateful they don't have a body to hide.

The marker is taken, and Gwen's chest considered. "Right. I have an idea."

It takes a bit, and in the end there isn't missing the mark on Gwen's chest, but now it looks like a deliberate choice. Cleverly, Karen has added swirls and curliques and some bold strikes leaving it look like the woman has some stylized tribal mark upon her chest, the uppermost edges of the design reaching up over Gwen's collarbone, and traipsing just over her shoulder.

Karen snaps the lid back on the marker, and retrieves her clutch, shoving the marker inside. Checks her makeup. Redoes and blots her lips. Tugs her little black dress down, and announces to the others: "Right. I do believe someone owes us a night. Ladies, are we ready?"

Hoodlum has posed:
The girl turns left, then right, checking. She pulls her jacket back, viewing herself. She makes that same self-critical expression known the world over. Sighs. Gives it up as 'as good as it gets'. "Okay. So we're ignoring it then. Good enough for me. Adrenaline. Yeah." Like she didn't just fight parademons the other day, herself. No judgement here! "I like my coke with grenadine. Lets me feel like I'm having adult drinks. Without the vom." Not that anyone asked. She's just helpful that way. A pause follows as she fishes for her phone and holds it up, poised,"Group-selfie? Duck-face everyone."

Booster Gold has posed:
When the ladies get to the VIP lounge, Booster's spirits are already in fine form. He greets them at the red rope, hands spread and a grin on his featues.

"Ladies! Welcome back! C'mon in, we've got ice tea!" Booster says, waving them around. "And don't worry-- I'm /already/ working on a letting of apology to the duchess," he says.

Without bothering to clarify that statement, he heads into the comfy VIP lounge. "And I've ordered the Pizza Palace to bring us food! We will eat and be merry, as is the tradition of the royal court," he remarks. "I tried to get soy poutine, but no one localy seems to have it," he apologizes.