2013.06.09 - Lightning Round

While it's not the sunniest days in the city of New York, it's still tempting enough to make one want to get outdoors and enjoy the warm weather. At least, eventually get outdoors. Right now, Ayla Ranzz can be found in the Legion commissary, putting the automats through their paces. There's a picnic basket open on a table within arm's reach, and each item she calls up gets a quick wrap in clingfilm before being deposited within. She's either really hungry or out to feed the world, judging by the way she's packing the basket.

She's dressed for going out into the civilian world as well. The uniform that matches Garth's has been traded in for jean shorts, a striped tank top, and sockless sneakers. The young Legionnaire is humming lightly as she works, twisting to put another treat into the basket.

When Booster walks into the commissary, he is also in civilian clothing, at least outwardly; he is in dark grey slacks and his blue shirt is not fully buttoned up, the star chest emblem of his powersuit visible. The long sleeves are rolled to his elbows, but his forearms and hands are bare, other than his Legion ring. It is possible that the accessories of his costume are in the messenger bag he has slung over his shoulder. He is stopping in for some food before he has to go do whatever it is he intends on doing while dressed like that. "Hi, Ayla," he says, giving her a big smile as he walks by. "Wow, that's... a huge lunch. You must have a raging metabolism."

"Hey Booster," Ayla greets in return, glancing over... then pausing and looking back again. She grins, noting lightly, "You clean up well. Got something big going on in the civvy world?" His observation only widens her grin. "Got a constant energy thing going on. Burn it off almost as soon as it goes in. It's pretty handy." She doesn't have to worry about watching calories or eating like a bird.

"Heh, thank you. And that makes sense. Those zaps have to run on something." Booster ponders the automat. "I have an audition, but that's not until tomorrow. But I also have an internship with Stark Enterprises, it's interesting." He turns to look to Ayla again. "I'm doing it for the connections, and I was pretty upfront about that. What have you been up to, in between these luxe meals?" He gestures at the basket of food Ayla is packing up, and grins, giving her a wink.

Picks up her latest acquisition, a bunch of grapes, and plucks one off, popping it into her mouth. "Stark, isn't he that robo-guy?" She leans easily against the table on which the picnic basket sits, crossing her legs at the ankles. She's still catching up on 21st century things, but Iron Man isn't entirely a mystery to her. There's another question, as her head tilts and she regards Booster, "Audition for what?" After a second, the bunch of grapes is offered, arm outstretched toward him. "I've been trying to brush up on how things work here. Somewhat successfully."

"Yeah, Iron Man. He knows I'm not a scientist, I mean I got B-grades in my High School science courses. But he knows I'm from the future. He's got some impressive tech, way beyond the consumer grade stuff we're seeing." Booster reaches out, to pluck one of the offered grapes. "The internship pays just a small stipend. I signed a contract with the Looker agency, the audition is for a modeling gig. Those pay well, they just don't come up consistently." The tall man shrugs, and pops the grape into his mouth.

Ayla chews slowly, going over what she's learned about Iron Man so far. Not a whole lot, actually. Her lips purse as she comes up with a tidbit of information, "Doesn't he make, like, guns and stuff?" So, her research might be just a touch outdated, but she's working her way to current events. One brow lifts, "Surely it can't match what we're used to though. Impressive, maybe, but on a par with, say, your suit?" The other brow lifts as he offers the information on his audition, for just a moment before her expression evens out once more. Her eyes take on a calculating cast, traveling over Booster from stem to stern, before she nods. "Yeah, by what I've observed, you're competent model material." She tries to tame a return of the grin, with some success. "Just watch they don't try and get that uniform off you." Beat, and a shrug of her shoulders, "Unless that's what you're going after." Another grape is plucked and popped.

"I don't think they do guns anymore. But no, it's not on a par with my suit, but I'm starting to suspect that some of the tech they're doing now laid the groundwork for the base model of this powersuit. I mean, I made alterations to it." Booster turns back to the automat array so he can get a sandwich. "I already told them that I don't pose nude. I know better than that, this era is kind of prudish. They tend to want my shirt off, though." He turns his head to look to Ayla, one brow raised as he says with mild exasperation, "I'd rather do all of this with my whole powersuit on, but I don't have the kind of fame that'll get me sponsorship jobs."

There's a nod to Booster's words, and Ayla offers, "Yeah, I could see that. All our technology had to start somewhere." She brightens, but it might seem a little forced, "When we all get back where we belong, I'll have to research from then. Maybe this Stark guy is, like, the most important person in one of our histories." That's a thought for her to ponder further, perhaps while she's having her picnic. When Booster turns his attention to the automat, Ayla's eyes flicker over him again, considering the modeling options of which he speaks. The grin this brings dimples her cheeks deeply, and she drops her attention, looking at the grape-less stem she now holds. It's tossed into the basket anyway with a careless flick. "I think if any of us could end up with a sponsorship, it'd likely be you." He seems most inclined to want one, for one thing.

"That'd be great. I mean, I'm still doing what I can to help this team be profitable as well... I'll probably have to have a word with Rokk, too. Hm." Booster seems lost in thought for a moment, staring at the automat. Then, he takes his sandwich from the slot; the ones he tends to eat have a remarkably generic and bland look to them, but it is likely what he was used to eating while growing up. He turns to face Ayla, looking fairly serious, which is atypical for him. "You know, I think it really is possible to get you guys back to your native eras. But I've been getting the feeling that you're here for a reason." He pauses, then clarifies, "Not just you, I meant... collectively."

When Booster turns, Ayla's eyes drop to the sandwich. Saying that it looks generic and bland is kind. Her lips twitch to one side, and she turns herself, digging in the picnic basket briefly, coming up with a wrapped sandwich. It's offered out to him, "Have you tried peanut butter and jelly?" It's not a daring sandwich, by far, but just looks miles more tasty than what he's got. "It's got grapes in it," she adds, hoping to be reassuring in case he doesn't already know that. "You know... I'd kind of thought about something along those lines." Her expression tempers, matching his own serious cast. "The way Garth and I got here so many years apart... I don't know. It just feels a little like that was on purpose, so I'd catch back up to him, and we'd be where we're supposed to be."

The offered sandwich is given an uncertain look by Booster, but he takes it, setting down the undoubtedly nutritious but unfun one he'd gotten from the automat. As he unwraps it, he says, "I'm willing to try anything once. Most things, anyway. Within reason. Well... I have no way to prove this but it feels right when I think about people having their own time. I mean, we move through time, so it's kind of built into us." He rolls his eyes a little as he then says, "If I were smarter, it'd be way easier to explain all this. I have this write up I'm doing about it but it's a little intimidating, the idea of submitting it so the rest of the team can see it." Booster then takes an exploratory bite of the sandwich, his expression getting odd as he seems to be dealing with unfamiliar flavors and textures, and has to decide whether these are good or bad.

Ayla watches the dubious regard Booster gives the sandwich expectantly. She's been a bit adventurous in trying the food found in this place and time, and she's found a lot that she likes. It's only natural to her to attempt to share it, and tempt Booster to be a little more daring than his usual fare. "Well, I can't say I'm the smartest one here, but if you need to run something by someone, I'd be happy to help you out." She pauses, adding, "But, Brainy might be the one you'd want to really get advice from. He's not called Brainy for nothing." She smiles again, pleased with her own lame joke, still watching Booster's reaction to the sticky, sweet sandwich. The automat makes them in a way that Ayla considers perfection, neither too much peanut butter nor too much jelly. A nice balance of each.

When Booster finally swallows his mouthful, he says, "...this is weird." Then, after a moment of thought, he adds, "It's pretty good, though." Looking at the sandwich in his hand, he remarks, "I'm finding the food in this era pretty strange. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just so different." Tilting his head so that he is giving Ayla a sidelong glance, he tells her, "I'm thinking he's the one that might dismiss this stuff. But I think I can back it up, at least enough for my ideas to be considered. I'm not as dumb as some people seem to think." He grins, and takes another bite of his sandwich; it may be weird to him, but seems willing to develop a taste for it.

There's a thoughtful hmmmmm before Ayla nods, "Yeah, valid point. There's always a chance with really smart people that they'll think anything they didn't come up with isn't worth coming up with at all." Her smile dimples her cheeks again, and she reassures, "Well, I don't think you're dumb, Booster." They haven't talked much, sure, but the couple times they have he's actually seemed insightful and on the ball. "People are smart in different ways." She shrugs lightly again, attention turning back to the picnic basket as she reaches in to rearrange things. Her voice continues, "It is pretty different. But some of it is really good. What they call ice cream here is a lot different than we had at home. Better."

"I haven't tried ice cream," Booster admits. "I mean, we had it in my era but it was gross, so I didn't bother trying any of it here. The thing I'm into is coffee, the coffee in this era is amazing. I met this hero dude who has an aircraft and he has a coffee machine on board." Despite the high tech amenities available at the Legion headquarters, a coffee machine on an air ship is what impresses Booster. He grins a little lopsidedly at Ayla. "I did hear Brainy talking about time-related matters but he used a lot of words I wasn't familiar with. I guess it ultimately doesn't matter, I started writing it up because Rene suggested I do it, so there'd be a record of the stuff I've done and experienced. I mean... I have no intention of returning to my native era. But you guys aren't here by choice, so that's different. That needs to be fixed."

"Oh Booster," Ayla says, immediately looking distressed, "You have to try it. And not what the automat makes, either," she says with a dismissive flip of her hand. "There's a place a couple blocks away, as I understand they make it themselves, not by machines." She pauses, sighing deeply, eyes closing as she relives the moment briefly, then opening to focus on the golden boy again. "Seriously. Try it. If I find out you haven't next time I see you, I'll drag you over there myself." Clearly that's no idle threat, as she punctuates the words with a waggle of her finger at him. Her hand drops and she shakes her head, remembering what he had told her. "No, it wouldn't be in your best interest to go back to where you came from. Maybe, if we actually figure it out, we'd be able to check out each other's times and places. Still, I'd settle for just getting back home. I mean, this is a nice place to visit, but I'm not sure I want to live here."

"Okay, I promise I will try some ice cream soon," Booster laughs, waving his hand as if to mitigate some of Ayla's distress. "If I'm not careful, I'll get addicted to 21st Century food and I won't fit in my power suit anymore. Anyway, this era is an improvement for me. But from all the stuff you guys have talked about... for most of you, it's a big downgrade from your native eras. Ice cream or not. I..." he looks thoughtful again, his gaze unfocusing a bit as if he were inspecting a memory. "I'm pretty sure those threads can be navigated, without completely collapsing the timeline into some kind of focused, single--" Booster stops with his mouth open, then he blinks and looks at Ayla. "Uh. You know, I really hope that's not what's going on. That there's some kind of chronal meddling that might wipe out vibrational variations."

Ayla does look reassured by Booster's acquiescence, but he looks almost serious again as their conversation continues. "I don't mind here, really... I just miss Mekt. I worry about him, being without me and Garth. When I was gone from them, he wasn't really the most upstanding citizen. And then while Garth was gone from us, he turned it around and we were trying to figure out what happened to Garth." There's a pause, her face pensive for a moment, before another shrug. "I don't know what this might be doing to him, both of us gone." She clears her throat, looking up, realizing she's wandered off on a personal tangent, and brings it right back around. "I'm not sure about a lot of the technical stuff about all this. All of us coming from different realities... it's a little bit much for me to wrap my head around."

"I mean that if it all collapses, he may never know because you guys might stop existing." Booster's expression is one of fascinated horror. "Or significantly altered, or..." He winces and shuts his eyes for a moment, then frowns and glances upwards, as if he were trying to figure something out. "Ugh. No... it's gone." Booster shrugs, a little sheepishly. "Now and then it seems really clear to me, as if I were just remembering something I'd forgotten, but then I'm like 'wow, what the heck is that' and it all looks confusing again." His brows arch up and he gestures to Ayla with his half eaten sandwich. "I was thinking, though, it's possible you'll return to your own time just moments after you left. But now I'm not so sure. I think there's some synching that happens, like..." he falters, then shakes his head.

One hand goes out without thought, giving Booster a little pat on the arm as his thought slips away. "Maybe when you try to look at that thought dead on, it fizzles? Try sneaking up on it next time." Ayla lets the hand drop after just a couple seconds, not wishing to impose on Booster's 'personal space'. She's learned well that some people are really funny about that. "I'd rather that were so, because then Mekt wouldn't have missed us at all. But it did take ten years of my time for me to get here a couple days after Garth." She wrinkles her nose. "Yeah, this all just still seems really wonky. Like it doesn't want to be figured out. At least not by me."

Booster does not seem to have much in the way of a personal space aura, although this may be due to playing rough contact sports for years. All the pat elicits is a brief smile from him. "I suspect it'll depend on how you're shunted back there. If it's in a machine... the way I got here... you can be pretty precise about it. Ehh," he rolls his eyes in a theatrical manner as he gives a vague wave of his hand. "I'll just get this data together, and not care about what Brainy or anyone else will think... hopefully he won't dismiss it, and there might be some stuff in there he'd be able to analyze. It's one of my flaws--one of my few flaws," he then amends quickly, with a playful wink at Ayla, "I tend to care way too much about what other people think about me."

Ayla laughs softly at Booster's self correction, her smile indulgent and warm. "You shouldn't, Booster. You're a nice guy, and probably smarter than you even think you are. Don't sell yourself short and worry about anyone else." Her grin takes on clear mischief as she adds, "If I did that, I'd never tell anyone Garth is my twin." No, she can't pass up a chance to needle her brother, whether he's around for it or not. It's just another expression of their affection.

"Well, I dunno if I'm that nice, but I've been trying to be nicer." Smiling, Booster shakes his head and gestures to Ayla with his sandwich-holding hand, "Now you remind me of my sister. Although, you could still use the comparison to your advantage. For example, the last time I saw Garth in here, he took my sandwich and threw it away." Booster then glances at what remains of his current sandwich, and holds it closer to himself, just in case both Ranzz twins are inclined to take away his food. "You, on the other hand, gave me one. Speaking from experience, I know it's not a twin's job to balance out their sibling, but it's what non-twins tend to think."

The commissary is almost deserted on this Sunday afternoon, save for two of the younger Legionnaires, Booster and Ayla. The pair are conversing as Ayla fusses around a picnic basket that looks pretty near to full, and Booster eats a sandwich. A sandwich he holds protectively close to himself. Ayla laughs, the sound genuinely amused, "Garth is a little lacking in tact, but I have to admit that my first thought was to throw your other sandwich away. Unlike my brother, I wouldn't do it without replacing it." As she did, more or less. There's a thoughtful pause before she says, "I think Garth and I do balance each other in ways. And boy, does he need it." Still, that comes with her typical good humor, and she shuffles things in her picnic basket around before she stops and looks satisfied with the arrangement.

"I was right in the middle of eating and it he took it and tossed it. As I recall, we were talking about modeling... I told him about that contract that I mentioned earlier. And he was going on about how everyone on your home planet tends to run around naked." Booster shrugs at this. "Which is fine, although I'd bet it would disturb most current-era Terrans. They have some weird mores in this era." He starts to eat the rest of his sandwich, now, which he seems to be finding palatable; he just needed to get used to it.

"This I didn't know," says a voice as a dark-haired figure enters the commissary. "The running around naked, not the Terran mores." Lar Gand clarifies as he walks up to the other two Legionnaires. "Hi, guys." The Daxamite is dressed in a white linen jacket and a dark blue shirt with a pair of jeans. He takes the unneeded eyeglasses off his face and puts them in the jacket's inside pocket.

Ayla's brows raise so high at Booster's words they're in danger of being lost in her shaggy red hair. The new voice draws her attention, and she laughs, looking back to Booster. "Yeah, you should probably only pay attention to half of what Garth says, then pay attention to almost none of that." Her brother seems to have taken quite a liking to telling Booster things that aren't quite true. If she knew the extent to which he has done so, she would be hunting him down to string him up by his thumbs. That said, she looks back to the new arrival, her smile holding. "Another face that's new to me. Hey." She offers a hand in greeting, "Ayla Ranzz, same reality as Garth. Mostly."

"I try to take everything he tells me with a little skepticism," Booster admits. "Because he tells me all kinds of things... about his era, your planet, you, and so on. He said he's even met me before, which... I'll grant might be true." Even though it was not something Booster personally experienced, Garth certainly said some things he could not have otherwise known. "Hey there," he raises his hand in greeting to Lar, as he turns to face him.

With a chuckle, Lar shakes Ayla's hand. "Sorry, Lar Gand. Valor, M'Onel, or Mon-El depending on your timeline." The last two names sound close but not exactly the same. "'Larry Kent' sometimes too. I'm Laurel's cousin. I kinda remember everyone - I forget that not everyone remembers me."

Lar nods to Booster. "Yeah Garth is most unlike the Garth I expect. Whatever reality he is from, I don't recall. It's so weird you'd think we would." He looks back at Ayla with the same sheepish expression Superman gets when he's committed a faux pas. "No offense, Ayla."

Ayla picks a name, and nods at the introduction, "Lar, good to meet you." Her friendly smile is at once replaced by a narrowing of her eyes as she looks quickly to Booster. "Me? What's he said about me?" It's pretty obvious she's expecting more of his propensity to embellish upon the truth. More simply said, she's sure he's been lying. But the scowl is shown to be a ruse as her laugh comes readily, and she waves off Lar's words. "None taken. He's the only Garth I know, but he's hardly perfect."

"We were talking about time-related stuff a little earlier," Booster remarks, to Lar. "I was saying that it kind of comes and goes for me... my understanding of it, I mean. Sometimes it's really clear and then, boom... gone." He lifts his free arm, doing a jazz-hand gesture to better illustrate the vagaries of his quantum understanding. After popping the last morsel of sandwich in his mouth, he seems thoughtful, debating whether or not to tell Ayla; then again, Garth did snatch his food away, the last time they saw each other. "Well," he says, after he has swallowed this mouthful. "When I mentioned you were the cute twin," Booster gestures to Ayla, "His response was to tell me you wet the bed when you were six."

Lar laughs at that. "That sounds to me like jut being a protective brother. That's the most normal thing I've heard from him yet." He raises his eyes at Booster. "I thought I was the only one who was experiencing that? Is everyone?"

Shrugging, "I was actually looking for Cos or Kent. Have you guys heard about Kal-El?"

Shrinking Violet, AKA Atom Girl, AKA Salu Digby, possibly AKA other things she doesn't tell people about, walks into the commissary, holding a bottle of some kind of fruit juice and fully in costume. Because, apparently, she still hasn't bothered to get anything else. "Exactly how Brainy would explain it," she tells Booster walking up to join the group. "Superman?" she asks Lar, then does a double take, staring for an instant before she recalls she probably shouldn't.

Whatever momentary pleasure there may have been at being called 'the cute twin' is lost as Booster continues, and Ayla's eyes widen. "He did WHAT??" If she hadn't already been standing, she would have jumped to her feet, but as it is she settles for scowling darkly. Even Lar's lightening of the moment has minimal effect on the currently outraged Ranzz twin. "He sucked his thumb for years," she counters, crossing her arms with a huff. Their talk of time is lost on her as she turns to dark thoughts of revenge on her brother, only lessening her scowl at the arrival of Salu. The other girl gets a nod, "Hey Salu." Yes, she's going to try and break the Vi habit, since Salu seems preferred.

Yikes. Booster takes a step back when Ayla's rage peaks for a moment. Not wanting anything to explode, he gestures to Lar as he says, "Yeah, what he said... probably just trying to say something so he could be protective of you." The danger seems to be passing, so he relaxes a little bit, lifting his hand to Salu as she walks up. "Well... last I knew, Superman was recovering from genetic meddling. There weren't complications, were there?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to know," Lar answers Booster. "I didn't even know he was recovering by the time I heard he had been affected. Is he ok? That's why I was looking for Cos or Kent. Or Brainy." He cracks his knuckles, "And if there's anyone we need to go after because Superman can't, I came to hear that too. Let's see whoever it is be surprised when his Kryptonian virus doesn’t work on Daxamites." Well ok, it could, but that's beside Lar's point.

Lar sees Salu double-taking and gives her the full Valor smile, "Hi Vi" Apparently he didn't get the memo. or maybe he just has given up keeping all the alternate realities straight.

Salu cracks a smile. A smile from Salu. Mark the calendar. "Hi, Ayla," she says. Booster nearly backs into the Imskian when he backs up, but she steps slightly to the side, lingering vaguely within his bubble. "Mon-El. We haven't met," she says, looking him over. It certainly looks like the Lar Gand she expects....at least she pictures him in clothes of this era. Somehow that throws it some.

As the others turn talk to Superman, there's a light crackle from Ayla's direction, followed by the light scent of something burnt. She'd reached back into the picnic basket that she has half loaded, and picked up the stem from the grapes she and Booster had eaten. Well, her mostly, but still. Currently, all that remains in her fingers is a charred little bit, and there's a light scattering of ashes on the table that she brushes away with a quick wipe of her hand. Feeling a little better, she rejoins the conversation. "I'd seen Kal was here, hadn't known why. Maybe we should go check the infirmary?"

"It was something General Grodd did to him," Booster explains, lifting his hands in a shrug as if he simply has no idea what happened. "An epigenetic attack utilizing a replicating viral package as a nanodelivery unit, so it was rewriting his DNA and removing his powers." That's said in the same tone. In Booster's era, students are required to take classes on genetic theory and practice in high school. "Kent should have eradicated the viral packages, and hopefully Superman still has enough intact DNA for it to self-correct." Glancing down, he starts buttoning up his blue shirt properly, covering up the glimpse of power suit he has on under his street clothes. "But I haven't heard any updates in the last day or two."

And as if the gods were ready for karmic retribution, Garth Ranzz enters the commissary.

"Hey, sis, hey Booster, Vi... Lar. What's up?" he calls out, as he heads for the automat, prepared to order a soyburger. "Talking about Superman...? He's been getting better. After that electroshock jumpstart, Clarkie's on the road to recovery. Shakespeare's got it all taken care of."

"The gorilla?" Violet asks of Booster. The more involved technical part gets put aside as she tilts her head slightly, her smile turning mean, "A couple good shots will put a stop to that," she says confident. "Where do we find him?"

"My sentiments exactly," Lar seconds Salu's intent. "As he likely promoted himself to 'general', he better have an army when we fi8nd him.

"A gorilla?" Ayla questions, confusion taking her features for a second. Until that familiar voice comes. Her attention turns to her brother as he enters and joins in, one hand slipping behind her back. A little ball of electricity is summoned, held for a second, then her arm raises and she lobs it at Garth. She knows it won't hurt him, but it's still satisfying. Moreso than crisping a grape stem.

"That's right, he's a gorilla. Fourteen feet tall, I think. Otherwise, I have no idea where he's lurking, but he came to the headquarters here, so he knows about us," Booster explains, although he looks a little sheepish. How hard could it be to find a 14 foot tall talking gorilla? Except, apparently, it is. "...Hi, Garth." Booster falls silent, then, with a little trepidation.

Salu does a turn and seats herself on one of the tables. "A gorilla," she says. "The heroes of legend fought all sorts of strange things. Not so different than fighting the Dominators," she says, and looks at Lar Gand to judge his reaction. She waits as long as she dares, eventually looking back at Booster. "The bigger they are," she says, a growl in her voice.

"You guys talking about the gorilla... whoa!" Shutting his eyes closed before the lightning ball hits him in the face with a full fwooosh effect, causing his hair to sweep out backwards from the shock, Garth grimaces, rubbing his face. "Hi, sis, what's going on? Mad about Grodd, or something else?"

"Grodd was here? How the frell did he get in? And who let him get back out? He's a villain for sprock's sake!" Lar exclaims, giving Salu a doozy of a reaction. "Don't we have any security?"

Ayla shoot a meaningful look at Garth, but simply says in a deceptively sweet tone, "We'll talk about it later, brother dear." She looks to Lar at his outburst, falling silent. But... those are pretty good questions. Despite having originally been talking to Booster, she's not looked at him since he revealed what her brother had said to him.

"Uh, I don't know, Lar. I wasn't here when it happened so I don't know all the details, I just remember Brainy mentioning it over the comm," Booster lifts his hand, to point out his Legion ring, to show what he is talking about. He is looking rather uncomfortable now, and more than a little awkward, due to the Ranzz twins altercation going on just a few feet away.

"Oh good, sister of mine," Garth grumbles, as he brushes his hair back into place. "We did have security - he turned up wanting to talk to Brainy, then... something happened, and he left in a hurry. Superman ran into him somewhere else, apparently."

"Neither was I," Salu says, sounding distinctly disappointed. "Of course we do," she tells Lar, drawing her pistols rapidly. "Best security you can ever have," she says, twirling the blaster pistols as she's seen on the telenet. Garth causes her to roll her eyes as she holsters the guns. "You're dumb in every timeline, aren't you?" she asks.

Lar scowls. "I suppose. I hope the big ape didn't schmooze Brainy out of any technology we don't want him to have." Then he shrugs and shakes it off. Salu's question to Garth makes him snort.

Altercation is such a strong word. It's just a little display of affection between the Lightning Sibs. No, really. Ayla turns her attention to her picnic basket, closing the lid and fastening a snap to keep it shut. "I didn't know gorillas had evolved to such a level in this time," she says absently. There's a glance at Salu's pistol twirling, but she allows the comment on Garth's proclivity toward stupidity. It's fitting to her at this moment. "I should get heading out. I have a date for lunch." She glances to Garth at this, using the truth creatively to needle him. Feeding the ducks in the park can so count as a date.

Booster puts his hand over his mouth when Salu makes that comment and manages to not smile or laugh, as challenging as that is. He clears his throat, and plays it off casually. When Ayla makes her remark about having a date for her picnic lunch, he actually looks faintly disappointed, but he seems to get over it quickly. Cheerfully, he tells her, "Have fun! I'll have that chronal data compiled and up pretty soon, if you're interested in seeing it."

"Hey, if you have better answers, Ms. Espionage Squad, come up with them, might as well use your tongue for something else other than making lemons envious," Garth returns the volley, before regarding Ayla curiously. "Oh? Where are you headed to, sis?"

Salu had to tweak Garth, she couldn't resist it. She slides forward on the counter, hopping to her feet with solid alacrity, "I will," she tells Garth, looking him right in the eyes. "Hope it's with Val," she says, and makes a quick link. "Color me jealous."

Garth gets that look again, Ayla's answer simple. "None of your business." But there's a smile, and it looks genuine, when she looks to Booster. "Yeah, I would be. Maybe we'll do a picnic in the park and I'll introduce you to some friends." The cute Ranzz twin looks to Salu, gives a bare shake of her head, and then offers out in general, "I'll catch ya later." Her feet barely leave the floor as she flies out, the basket in one hand, going to find her friends in the park.

Salu mock salutes the departing Ranzz. "I understand secrets. Have fun," she says. Her attention lingers on Booster... "I'll see what fun I can find on my own," she says, before sauntering out.

It seems to be occurring to Booster that despite what Salu has said about Garth's intellect, he may put two and two together; and Booster actually has a job to go to and cannot afford to get zapped right now. "Uh, I have to go, too," he says, gesturing to the doorway, his feet already leaving the ground. He is about to explain where and why, but decides that his time might be short so he just says, "Bye!" and he flies out of the commissary door like a comet.

"Looks like the party's breaking up," Lar says. He takes the glasses out of his pocket and puts them back on. Pushing his hair back off his forehead, he reassumes his 'secret identity'. Yeah to everyone in the room it's Lar in glasses, but it's crazy how that fools the Terrans. "If you need me, ring me." And he too leaves.