The Perk- Thursday evening

[throughaphase]

Kitty had decided to stop in at the Perk on her way home tonight, only for the barista to give her a wink and a free coffee, along with a message to "thank the flamingo."

Since she had no idea what that was about, she decided to take a seat and very obviously eavesdrop on the baristas' conversation because she had to find out the story there.

[My day was terrible and this post is so open.]

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[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Jessica had a long day and all she wanted to do was settle down with a coffee and some of the data she collected about Battleworld. Her interdimensional probe went dark, but not before it transmitted some ariel photos.

When Jessica looked down to see her coffee, she instead saw a cup of skim milk and a note: "Answer the phone," it said. The barista was giving her a mean look and said something about her cat and a gremlin and the phrase "Motorized razor scooter" before her manager came over and told her to take her break.

When Jessica turned around with her notes and cup of skim milk, she was relieved to see Kitty sitting over there instead of the barista smoking pointedly outside or something. "Hey, how's it going?"

[throughaphase]

"It's turning out to be a weird night. You?" Kitty asked.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I'm taking the fact that I'm not wearing a drink right now as a victory, so..." Jessica said. "I've had worse nights."

[throughaphase]

Kitty had to ask. "What'd you do to wear a drink?"

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Apparently there was an incident between her cat and a gremlin and it got out of hand earlier," Jessica explained. "And she called the trooper station while we couldn't get to the phone." Because of the Quiet Game. "To be fair, gremlins participating in well defined 'rascally behavior' isn't a police issue per the Fandom Municipal Code, so we couldn't have done anything anyway."

[throughaphase]

"Wait wait wait. We have a Fandom Municipal Code?"

You learned something new every day!

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"If we didn't, I would get paid for one of my jobs," Jessica said. "And I wouldn't have the authority to arrest anyone, temporarily."

[throughaphase]

"I'm constantly amazed you don't have to arrest people more," Kitty admitted.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I could actually call for a coup and start arresting people at my discretion. The code is very lenient on coups," Jessica said. "But that's most because when you get to the part about trials and sentencing, it just says '[Reserved]' in brackets."

[throughaphase]

"Probably because we've never once made it to that point here," Kitty said. "Seriously, when you think about this town sometimes..."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I try not to. It's one of the many things in my life that I specifically try not to think too hard about," Jessica answered.

[throughaphase]

"I wish I could do that. Trying not to think about it means I think about it twice as hard," Kitty frowned.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I've had a lot of practice," said the female clone of a deceased male superhero who was created by one of that hero's worst enemies under the employ of an amazingly evil corporation, and who had seen her world nearly destroyed several times before it finally was, an event during which she lost her best friend and kind of a big crush, who was a younger version of the woman she was talking to right now. "It gets easier eventually."

[throughaphase]

"Must be a difference in personality," Kitty said. "I come from somewhere where we have some of the stuff that happens here, and I'm still trying to figure out how the science works and why this thing or that happens."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"There's the difference. It helps to come into the world knowing that things are insane," Jessica said. "I have a much easier time accepting things for what they are so I can pinpoint how to make them better."

[throughaphase]

"I'm pretty sure if we joined forces we could rule the world," Kitty said conversationally.

Or in at least one AU Kitty could become president all on her own but that wasn't the point.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

And in Jessica's AU, Kitty was a head of state of an independent country within the US for a few months! "Too much work, not enough benefit, and there's always the chance that you'll go mad just from the promise of power. It's not for me."

[throughaphase]

"I could totally handle power without going nuts," Kitty said. See also: Black Vortex! "For instance, I'm a great boss. Not a single power trip."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I think that's a common trait in Kitty Prydes," Jessica noted. "The one from my world handled authority pretty well, too, so I kind of buy this."

Okay, yes, her Kitty Pryde fought an international mutant war that ended with her blowing up a floating city-state. It was justified.

[throughaphase]

"Ooh, am I in charge of something cool over there?" Kitty said. And yes, she was using present tense because the alternative was depressing and no.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"My Kitty lead the mutant revolution against the Sentinels that took over the American Southwest, then she negotiated the existence of the X-Reservation with President Rogers," Jessica said. She was going to continue discussing her Kitty in the third person because of the aforementioned compartmentalization. "She was in charge of the independent country of Utopia for as long as that lasted."

[throughaphase]

Kitty blinked.

"Okay, that's badass," she decided.

That was so much better than what she'd found about her AUs lately!

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"She also got turned into a giant and fought Galactus hand-to-hand, if that means anything to you," Jessica said, smiling a bit. "So yeah, basically the biggest badass my world ever saw."

[throughaphase]

"Me here needs to step it up," Kitty said. "I've got way too much to live up to and I'm clearly not doing enough."

Clint would love to hear that, probably.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"I'm not helping, but she was also my age," Jessica teased.

[throughaphase]

"And now I realize how it feels to be old," she sighed. "Also you suck."

She did not.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"You and the barista are in agreement," Jessica said. "That's the last thing I wanted. Damn."

[throughaphase]

"At least I'm not throwing my drink on you," Kitty pointed out.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"It's the little victories," Jessica decided.