the park; sunday afternoon

[flickofawrist]

This tiny town was growing more and more dull with each second that ticked by. Chase had amused himself in all the ways he knew how but he was getting to the point where toying with people wasn't going to tide him over. He wanted power and he wanted it now.That meant getting back to Caleb and his little merry band of friends. Of course, Chase

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[spin_kick_snap]

Thus far, Kathy had missed interacting with the person her roommate had turned into for the weekend. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Flick had changed into someone new this weekend. Weekends were usually spent either patrolling in Baltimore or sleeping, so as long as Flick hadn't turned into the kind of person to set up a brass band in their room, Kathy would have no idea what happened.

It was Minako who spotted Flick first. Kathy had brought the hyperactive puppy to the park for some playtime and Minako had immediately begun chasing squirrels and falling leaves and whatever else she could find, leaving Kathy to laugh and jog after her.

Normally, when Minako saw Flick, he was greeted by a few happy barks and a little wiggle that meant something like 'pick me up and pet me and let's be bestest friends!' And when she first spotted him, that's exactly what she did, bounding over with her tail wagging. But as soon as she got within scenting distance, everything changed. Her cheerful yips turned to menacing growls and she bared her teeth at him. Minako might be a puppy, but she was still guardian of love and justice enough to know that there was a Bad Man in front of her.

Very bad.

[flickofawrist]

"What, you want some food, dog?" Chase asked, giving the barking puppy a look. "You could just ask nicely instead of polluting the air with your high pitched barking."

[spin_kick_snap]

Minako was having none of your false niceness, Not-Flick! Instead she was going to up the ante, barking and growling and even a few howls to warn the whole island that there was an enemy present.

"Minako?" Kathy called, following the noise. She'd paused to pick up after the puppy (yeah, something she was not going to let her friend live down once she turned back, oh no) and in that time, Minako had sped off. Normally, Kathy wouldn't be worried about her, the park was pretty safe, but judging by the cacophony Minako was raising now, she'd gotten herself into some kind of danger.

Dropping the plastic bag she'd been carrying, Kathy broke into a run. If something happened to Minako, she'd just never forgive herself!

[flickofawrist]

"You keep howling at me, dog, I'm going to snap your neck," Chase said brightly. "And you don't want that, do you? You don't want your stupid canine life ended so prematurely, do you? Shut up."

[spin_kick_snap]

Ha! Minako had been threatened by better people than you, Not-Flick. You think you had anything on Kunzite? YOU DID NOT.

Which meant that Minako was going to dive at Chase now, trying to nip at his ankle. It wasn't a Sailor V Kick, but one had to adapt when one was fighting evil as a puppy.

Which was just about when Kathy turned the corner and spotted them. "Minako! Flick!"

[flickofawrist]

Chase didn't really want to kill some dog when some random had just come into view so he just tried to push the dog away from his ankle firmly. He'd save the killing for a little later.

"Get away from me," he snapped, glaring before he turned a smile towards the girl who'd just arrived. "Sorry, having a bit of trouble with the dog here."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Minako, come here!" Kathy ordered. With one last snarl, Minako obeyed, running back to shelter in Kathy's shadow. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into--" she paused. "You're not Flick."

Ugh. Stupid island.

"I'm so sorry. She's normally a good girl, I don't know what's gotten into her. I think she's just confused. And I bet you are, too, which just makes this whole thing even worse for you."

If Minako could talk, she'd tell Kathy that her sympathy was completely wasted on this guy.

[flickofawrist]

"How do you know I'm not Flick?" Chase asked, leaning back against the bench and resting his arms along the back. "I'm not wearing a nametag, am I? I resent being told who I am not."

Never mind that she was right.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Because if you were Flick, you'd know who the dog was. And you'd know who I am."

And his body language seemed all...off, but in ways that Kathy couldn't really articulate.

"But you don't, do you."

At Kathy's heels, Minako decided to punctuate that statement with another growl.

[flickofawrist]

"Fine, you caught me," he said, putting both his hands over his heart. "I'm not Flick."

He grinned maliciously.

"I'm better."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't like the look of that grin. Something about it raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

"You'll understand if I don't immediate agree, right?" she asked, giving him a friendly smile. Her brain was probably caught up in the confusion of having someone clearly not Flick in front of her; a kind of psychological uncanny valley kind of thing. "No offense meant, but Flick is my friend, you know? I'm a little biased on his behalf. I'm Kathy, by the way. Nice to meet you...?"

[flickofawrist]

"Chase," he said, showing off his politeness by even offering a hand. "I can be your friend too."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, sure!" Kathy said, her smile turning brighter even as she took his hand to shake. "A pleasure to meet you, Chase. And since you're probably more than a little confused by this place anyway, I'll be happy to help you out for as long as you're here. Whatever I can do, okay?"

And the Most Earnest Superhero of the Year Award goes to...?

[flickofawrist]

Wow. Chase blinked a few times at her earnestness and suppressed the urge to shake his head. She was never going to survive with an attitude like that.

"That's really nice of you," he said, eyes wide and tone bright but fake. "This place have a mayor or something? Someone in charge?"

He decided to start at the top. "I'd love to meet them. I've got a few things I want to suggest."

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, she wasn't dead yet! That was a thing, right?

"We do, but he's rarely in his office," Kathy explained. "I get the feeling he's one of those super-libertarian types who feels that any government oversight is too much." She tilted her head to the side and gave him a questioning look. "Can I ask what you want to suggest? I mean, you've been on the island--what? A day and a half maybe?"

Not that he couldn't have good ideas for things that needed improvement! It just seemed very odd.

[flickofawrist]

"A change in leadership," he told her, buffing his fingernails on his jacket and smiling pleasantly. "I've got a few replacements in mind."