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This event occurs prior to Das Gift.

This time, there was much less setup to do, so Kaatje only arrived half an hour prior to the scheduled ten AM start. Not just because the laser tag arena already had its own obstacle courses, neat hiding places, and suchlike, though that helped. It was mostly because she'd managed to get the snack bar opened up to be worked by personnel provided by 'the event'. Anabel Au had pulled up a bar stool and was sitting at the counter, typing away at an iPad. Kaatje waved as she went by, a large Sam's Club bag thrown over one shoulder.

It was full of newly-bought sidewalk chalk. Sure, Keren and Kaatje would be doing a lot of scrubbing before they went home, but hopefully it would all be worthwhile.

She fished out a familiar clipboard and passed it over to Keren. "We just need them to update their information if they need to, or add it if they don't. See if you can interface with Ash and get her to identify henshin pens, or something." That seemed like the best, most expedient way of identifying things. For Knights, she was still thinking on how to verify their identities.

Either way, they weren't going to fit many people into the arena as it was. They'd be doing their initial meetup out in the open space of the waiting area, because that made more sense. With only one set of doors unlocked, and Anabel watching them, and the guardian cats, Kaatje wasn't worried about getting discovered for what they were. Even if Anabel was the saddest excuse for a soldier Kaat had ever seen.



Remember, signups run until May 10th! Bring a friend! bring TWO friends! Until then, feel free to RP talkin' it up and wandering around.

Even if she hadn't done nearly as well at the previous boot camp as her prideful side might have preferred, Paris was ready for another go at it—though her determination may very well have more to do with an impending stint of inactivity than it did with any sort of desire to mold herself into a better Senshi (a desire she may or may not actually have depending on who you asked). Regardless, she faced today's training with enthusiasm.

Laser tag. She could do laser tag.

Maybe...

Alright, so she wasn't great at it, but it was fun. And hadn't she and Tallulah talked about doing something with laser tag not three months prior? Whether or not they'd been serious about it, they'd be getting their opportunity now. Paris was almost surprised that a girl like Kaatje (who seemed, to her, to be a huge stick-in-the-mud) would have them gather at a place like this, though something told her it wasn't going to be all fun and games.

“Do me a favor and don't go around telling everyone your identity,” she said to Chris, whose hand she held on the way into the complex.

During her previous laser tag experience she hadn't quite dressed the part. This time she came a little more prepared for physical activity, in a cropped pair of dark gray leggings and a layered pink and gray sports bra like so, covered for now by a matching zip-up hoodie, with her feet clad in a comfortable pair of tennis shoes and her hair twisted into a reverse French braid that ended in a bun atop her head. Though she was no cat named Ash, Paris smiled brightly at Keren as she met her at the entrance.

“Madame Secretary, Mega Luna the Lady of Lustiness reporting for duty,” she joked. She motioned to Chris. “My husband, Sir Jove #1. I figure you want his John Hancock on that handy-dandy clipboard of yours.”

When Maggie realized that the address Kaatje sent out was for a laser tag arena, she had been downright giddy. It appealed to her intrinsic desire to be stealthy! Whether that was eavesdropping on people's conversations, learning all she could about celebrities under the guise of exploration, finding tiny ways to disobey her parents, or playing Harriet the Spy in her real life at every turn, Maggie liked some good intrigue. Laser tag was, in her opinion, just a more physical form. Each time she played, her heart raced, giggles erupted out of her in tremors, and she challenged herself to find the perfect place to hide and snipe all passerby.

In preparation for laser tag, which she assumed would be what they were doing, Maggie was wearing full-length black yoga pants, a fitted black tank-top, and a matching hoodie. In fact, aside from the pants, this was an entire work out set that she had purchased the day before in preparation for this exact moment. The only pair of black sneaks she owned had a white Nike soowsh on the side, but Maggie had carefully covered it up with electrical tape. Her hair was braided into two chunky pigtails that hung over her shoulders, bangs held back by a black headband.

To top it all off, she had carefully painted black rectangles under her eyes. However, being 14 and kind of clueless at times, she did it with eyeliner instead of greasepaint.

Yay, adolescence.

Pushing her way through the doors, Maggie's eyes immediately lit up to see a particular familiar face. "Oh my god, Paris!" she called out, waving dorkily to the other girl and jogging over to her excitedly. "Do you think we'll be partners again? I'm feeling really good about today, you know? Totally chill. Laser tag and me get each other." Turning, she waved to Kaatje and Keren too, other faces she recognized. Then she swerved back to Paris. "And -- OH. Is this the husband?" Her eyes had flipped to the man beside her; it helped that she had heard Paris call him her husband.

One hand pushed out, offered to Chris. "Hi, I'm Maggie Lawrence," she said. "I'm Paris' partner. Well, no , you're Paris' partner, but I was, you know, her temporary partner last time us crimefighters got together. Gotta protect the city and whatever." She grinned more like a cheerleader than a savior of Destiny City. Her eyes roved to the unfamiliar cat with a grin, but then returned to the conversation at hand.

Around people her own age, Maggie took on an air of puffed up maturity and bravado. For some reason, around other more experienced senshi, she seemed very, very, very much her age -- annoying as that age may be.

Anabel watched the group filter in with her chin in her hands. The businesslike and tall purple-haired girl, Keren or whatever, was neatly ignoring her. Which was fine, Anabel didn't care. A tiny and glamorous blonde, who was apparently married (boo) to a tall brunette (but what color hair would their children even have), came through the door and started talking to Keren, which was also okay. (Did she hear a quiet hiss of nerds from Kaatje? Surely not.) Then another brunette, this one a high schooler, maybe. Enthusiastic and loud. It was sort of cute! Anabel was endeared. But also, envious.

A year or two ago, she could've been one of them, instead of relegated to the sidelines like this. Well, Kaatje had promised that if Anabel did this they could talk about some sparring matches, and that would have to do for now; especially since it wasn't like Ana could really do any of the s**t Kaatje had planned.

Well, that was a lie. She could do some of it, she just wasn't allowed to. Yet. Her doctor would cave… eventually.

"Hey, kitty," she said, when she spotted the fluffy white cat (Snowball) wandering near the snack counter. There was a star on its forehead… and she'd been told things about cats with stars. It took effort to stop talking like she would to a small, not particularly bright, child. She managed it, somehow. "Are you one of those guardians Babylon told me about?"



Kaatje wasn't not expecting her phone to ring, but she also was not expecting it to ring, so when it did, she was a little surprised. The caller ID wasn't one that she knew, but, her number had circulated fairly widely after the first boot camp and she'd gotten used to answering unknown phone calls. When she picked up, though, the voice on the other end was definitely not unknown to her. "Ash," she said, trying not to sound surprised. She looked around the lobby, covertly, like she might spot the gray cat. Seeing no one memorable, Kaatje promptly pretended she hadn't done anything of the sort and walked a few steps away from the snack counter. "Where are you?"

Alex stretched, scratching the soft cast on her elbow. The page heard about laser tag through word of mouth. She didn't know any of these people she saw gathered and was sad she wasn't actually participating. Not being one hundred percent really put a damper on the whole thing, but she'd learn something hopefully at least. For now she'd sit back and watch the chaos.

She'd learn a lot about how her own faction worked under non life threatening situations too. She wanted to see if they were just as disjointed as she'd seen in battle.

Alex stepped up to the woman with the clipboard. "I heard something about laser tag? If it's possible, I'd like to just watch, not quite in the shape to run around and shoot thing."



---

Mary, on the other hand, was excited. She loved laser tag, though was terrible at it. The squire skipped up to the group and waved, fluffing her shoulders some before slipping into the arena. She wore a small green dress with white leggings and flats, and a hippogryph backpack filled with munchies, a water bottle and a good book, just in case.

She was ready for this, oh yes she was ready for this!

”Really, is that the best you’ve got?” Chris asked, feigning exasperation at Paris and her choice of nickname for him. He understood her not wanting him to announce his identity to everyone, but ‘Sir Jove #1’ was even worse than being called ‘Poohbear’... which he hated to admit was kind of endearing now that he was used to it.

Even still, he gave Paris’s hand a squeeze and smiled at the girl, Maggie, who approached them, laughing at her comment at being Paris’s partner. “She’s told me about you. You guys really went through a bootcamp it sounds like. I’m sorry I missed it, I had a game during that time,” he explained as he took her hand in his own to shake.

“Chris Ga… uh… Chris…” he backpedaled, glancing sheepishly at Paris, hoping she wouldn’t be too mad about his slipup. He wasn’t sure what he was and wasn’t allowed to disclose. He definitely wasn’t introducing himself as ‘Sir Jove #1’...

Maggie seemed enthusiastic, and he was glad. Hopefully she had managed to avoid most of the heartache that came with the job of senshi or knight, or maybe she was new to it. “Are you still in highschool? Or graduated yet?” he wondered, her cheerfulness infectious.

The peppy girl gave her best handshake and then stepped back, still grinning. "Hi, Chris," she said, eyes flickering to Paris with hormone-ridden bliss. The idea of marriage was this starry, far-off thing that seemed like utopia to the teenager. She was obsessed with celebrity weddings -- the Kimye Wedding was her current main hustle. Maggie was the kind of girl who had checklists for her future husband and an ever-growing Pinterest collection of wedding ideas. Even though her parents divorced, both had found other people who made them happy too. HOW LUCKY. To have beautiful love twice!

Maggie thumbed the end of her braid. "I go to Horizon Institute now," she said, intentionally leaving out the freshman part. "I transferred from Meadowview. I plan to go to DCU when I graduate. Study social psychology. I love people-watching." Sure, that was four years away, but Maggie was already making life plans. Generic ones, sure, but PLANS. She couldn't scream brand new senshi any harder unless she actually had that new car smell. The girl hadn't yet realized that being a senshi might change the course of her life in a big way.

"What about you, Chris? What do you do -- still in school, or...?"

There had been a good hour where Delilah just stared at the wall trying to decide if this was a good idea. She had gone to round one of boot camp and though she had met some great people, she had hurt...alot...afterwards. This Gunn was a drill sergeant.

What made the final choice for her was the fact that the first event HAD paid off in more ways than one. And even if she was sore again, the more the merrier.

Yet as she walked into the laser tag building, her eyes started to shift. "What did I sign up for?"