trans_9 | What a day for a Parade

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What a day for a Parade

It had started as an idea, a silly little idea.

When Sandy had grown up in New York she'd heard tales of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from the older people around the neighborhood. And on the news they ran reruns of it, but the constant pouring rain and the security issues had made the parade a thing of the past.

So...with a little help from Stacy's history files and the Sensorium Sandy was going to experience the iconic celebration first hand.

The world seemed to explode around her as the Sensorium took her command and noise and color swirled around her.

Music was booming and people were dancing. She fought her way to the front of the crowd and naturally, had the best seat of in the house as the parade began. She saw her breath in front of her and summoned up a mug of hot cocoa to savor as her eyes twinkled with delight. Dancers in tight outfits, balloons bigger then anything she'd ever seen, and everywhere people were laughing and smiling.

It was a New York she'd never known, a New York full of hope and joy.

A New York full of love.

[[OOC: You don't have to interact with Sandy if you don't want you can just come on your own or with friends and family to enjoy the parade]]

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There was a sudden warmth pressed against Sandys back as a pair of arms casually and comfortably slipped around her. Large, tanned hands resting over her smaller ones that were holding the mug, trying to share in the heat coming off the beverage.

A cheek, slightly pinched pink with cold, rested itself against her temple, causing bangs of soft, blonde to tickle her own cheek. The nose and mouth now taking pride of place in her peripheral vision breathed in, then exhaled, pooling out a misty cloud of frozen breath that coiled around Sandys face and then whirled its way up into the air above them, revealing that the newcomers mouth had pulled itself into a very familiar smile.

Deep, but shining eyes drank in everything infront of them.

"Woah!" He spoke softly, as if speaking too loud would disrupt the perfectly executed performance, before turning his head just slightly so their eyes could meet. In his danced the same delighted light as hers.

"Hey!" Hana said, grinning as usual, all previous quietness forgotten. "I thought you'd ditched me!"

Sandy's face was now warm enough to cook on leaning into his embrace automatically. The warmth spread through her form like being filled with liquid elation.

"N-never." She mumbled sheepishly taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly with a silly smile.

"Promise?" His grin had turned cheeky and he started prodding her side in a playful manner with one hand, the other arm was still hooked around her.

Sandy giggled and squirmed prodding him back "You're my best friend of coarse I promise!" She wanted to add and I'm totally in love with you. but her throat closed up when the words threatened to spill out.

A massive Balloon of Pikachu drifted over head like a yellow and red god.

Chuckling in reply, Hana pulled back and dipped down, disappearing from view.

Suddenly, he appeared again, poking his head inbetween Sandys legs and with a few fluid movements, strong hands held onto her knees and a powerful back and legs hoisted her into the air. With her thighs now resting on his shoulders, he'd effectively doubled her height, much to the protests of the simulated crowd behind them, but Hana seemed to be paying little attention to them.

He tilted his head back slightly to smile at the girl sitting on his shoulders.

"W-whoa!" She clung to his head tightly while she struggled with balance. Her skin hardened instinctively but then she willed it away so she wouldn't get too much heavier and burst out laughing. "This is awesome!" She screamed out loud her voice almost lost in the chaos.

Hana laughed loud and long, bouncing with the drums of the marching band.

Then he gave Sandy a sly grin. "Let's be part of the parade."

Without any more warning, he suddenly took off from the sidelines and darted into the middle of street, carrying Sandy like a makeshift balloon.

Sandy barely had time to ask "What?" Before he took off into the street much to the crowds delight. She flailed a little to keep her balance but the Sensoriums made it easier and she was waving to the crowd now feeling like some kind of celebrity.

Dancers in bright costumes twirled around the duo cartwheeling, flipping and springing their way to the front of the back like a rainbow had exploded.

Hana kept his back straight and held her high as they walked, his bright grin beaming.

"Hehehe! They like you, Cassandra!"

He titled his head back to look at her, eyes shining happily. "Not as much as I like you though."

Hana breezed past the comment by making another, nodding to the performers around them.

"Must be 'cause you're the prettiest here, huh?"

The question was innocent, as if stating a simple fact.

Sometimes, Sandy really had to wonder if Hana was as oblivious to her feelings as she thought, especially now that he had made her blush so bright she might as well have had every persons eyes on her at once.

"Y-you really think so? I mean...come on...look at them." She pointed to a group of beautiful girls in tight outfits dancing in perfect unison. The infamous "Radio City Rockettes."

Hana had to look a them for a good few moments before giving a verdict.

"Huh... They look pretty nice." He shrugged, as if unimpressed.

That was enough of an answer for her and another rush of pride flooded through her. It was almost intoxicating.

"Well, I think you're the coolest guy here." She confessed.

Hana's cheeks flushed a little with pride and he chuckled. "Heh, thanks."

He put his head back again to look at her. "You're still cooler, though."

And that just made her blush more.

"We're the coolest kids ever!" She decided and as such, there was suddenly a parade float full of Sandys and Hana's getting all sorts of cheers from the crowd.

"Woah!" He laughed, waving at his doppelgangers. "Lotsa me's!"

"And lots of Cassandras." He jostled her. "This one's my favorite though."

"You're my favorite too!" She called over the sounds of chaos and joy of the holiday spirit surging through crowd. It was like a storm of sparkles and confetti.

It's always been a secret hope of Howard's that he'd see New York City someday. This doesn't count - Sensoriums feel like cheating, and if there's only one person Howard doesn't like to cheat, it's himself - but it's close enough that when he peaks in and sees the iconic parade, he can't help but try and get a closer look.

Unfortunately, being near tons and tons of people is a little claustrophobic, so he hangs out towards the back, where he can see the balloons but not feel as if his head is being pounded in by chatter and elbows at about face height. He notices Sandy and gives a little wave. He doesn't like her still, but he can stand her.

Sandy smiled and in a blink was at Howard's side.

"Pretty great huh? This is my first time!" She called.

"Your first time what? In New York?" Howard, not really thinking, immediately assumes its the same first for her as it is for him.

That made her laugh. "No way, I lived in New York before Stacy. But by the time I was born the parade was canceled."

"What time are you from? When I was a kid they still broadcast it every year." She doesn't seem that much more futuristic than he is, so he assumes she's not that far ahead of him.

"Um...yeah I'm from farther down the line, like 2053 was the year before all of this." She marveled at some of the colorful acrobatic dancers twirling in front of them. "You must have been from before."

"Early 2011. Not that it really matters - progress kind of came to a standstill in November 2009." Dates are still important, even if there's no way to keep track on Stacy. One of the few records of measurement the FAYZ kids never lost track of was the passage of time, if only to properly anticipate their birthdays and get all anxiety-ridden over them. "Did we ever get flying cars?"

"Um..." Sandy thought for a moment, "Yeah the police have some, but not the public. Maybe if we were still part of the United States things would have been different." And now she had a moment to consider how great it would be to have her own flying car at her age.

...she'd probably crash it trying to see how fast it would go.

Howard looks surprised. "Wait, New York seceded or whatever? How's that work?" From his very slight American politics awareness, he just always assumed Texas would be the first to go.

"Well..." Sandy thought about how best to explain it. "Alright here." One of the balloons had lowered (A spider-man balloon no less) and a basket was attached. Sandy led Howard (More or less forced him) into the basket. It was only a few feet off the ground when New York changed around them.

Massive red beams of light surrounded the city in a dome shaped web, lending an ominous darkness to the world. No stars could be seen in the dark and clouded sky as an eternal rain poured down upon them. The balloon kept the duo dry as the city seemed to crumble around them. Large portions of it fell into disrepair, poverty. Like a disease the Ghetto spread out wide leaving only a few areas looking kept up and well off.

"The Mayor always said the web and the police were for our protection, but I never felt that way." A scene unfolded in the street below them, some kids running from armed and armored police, one was tazed, one was beaten.

But Sandy escaped, fleet of foot and cold to abandon the others.

"Hey, what are you-" But Howard doesn't get much of a chance to protest before he's in the balloon and the scene is changing.

In a weird way, this beaten-down, ruined city feels more familiar to Howard than it did before Sandy changed the scene. It doesn't look quite like the FAYZ - Perdido Beach will never have the skyscrapers of New York - but strewn garbage, boarded up doors, graffiti, broken windows, people digging through trash, and so on are all uncomfortable close to him now.

He looks at Sandy with new eyes, almost. And he does not blame her for running; it doesn't even occur to him to blame her. "My parents always told me not to trust the police. To be really polite to them but never trust them and never go running to them."

"Mine too." Sandy nodded knowingly. "My dad was a big criminal in his time. They called him The Sandman. Anyway between that and my powers, the police were more dangerous then helpful."

The Balloon shifted so Howard could see the Grafitti that Sandy had sprayed, "Where did you go"

"I guess back then...I was still looking for a hero. Someone to take down the web."

"I just got told that more likely than not, the police would be harder on me than they would be on a white kid. I guess I never got old enough for that to be a problem, since it was mostly just school security guards and stuff."

Howard nods, slowly, eyes on the graffiti. "You get that heroes don't exist now, right?"

"Well...I wouldn't say that." She sighed leaning against the end of the basket, "There's alot of good people on this ship. Lotta stupid people too, but maybe that's part of being a hero huh? You gotta be too stupid to take care of yourself."

"You get too stupid, you get killed. Or you end up hurting other people. That doesn't make you a hero." Howard stares out at the wrecked city and leans over the end of the basket. "You'll get it eventually."

Sandy considered that and nodded thoughtfully, "I guess that makes sense. But...well what would it take to be a hero then? There was that Superman guy who died to save us all. Doesn't that count?"

"No. That's the easy way out, dying. He's not going to stick around and be here when it really gets bad, is he?"

"Huh..." It was impossible to miss the disappointment in Sandy's voice, "Never thought about it like that." And she wished she hadn't now. As if to reflect the state of mind this was putting her in the balloon drifted over one of the last memories Sandy had of her city, a crowd of people, including herself standing around watching as an old man in a spider-man suit got knocked around by six super villains.

"See he was the only hero we had left that I knew of and that didn't work out too well."

"Exactly." Howard feels absolutely zero guilt about imparting his particular brand of cynicism on Sandy. "And then they're just gone and us normal people get to pick up the pieces and keep putting up with the hard stuff."

He tilts his head at Sandy. "You ever wonder what death's like?"

You may very well be the most unbearably depressing person she's spoken to yet Howard, and yet here she is.

"Only when I'm close to it." She confessed. "Before Stacy picked me up I was sure I was a goner. I thought Stacy was you know, what happens after when I got here."

Hey, Howard can be fun! Sometimes! Usually at your expense!

"Same here. I mean, not like I was in the middle of dying or anything, but it was going to happen sooner rather than later." He picks at his lower lip, then just ends up biting his fingernails. "But I'm pretty sure there's no religion on your Earth or mine that would classify living inside a giant pulsing wart while fighting space bugs as heaven, and the weather's too good for it to be hell."

"Still made more sense to me then reality at the time." Sandy countered with a bitter laugh. "But yeah...I dunno. I've stayed alive this long. I think my odds are pretty good. Better if I keep close to the stronger people and help out where I can. You know learning how to be useful."

He nods. Howard can totally get behind getting close to stronger people and making himself useful. "You're not worried about going back?"

He pauses for a moment, then sighs. "You know, kiddo, if you need someone to vouch for you getting a job in Medical, I'll give it to you."

Sandy shrugged her face impassive. "I don't know, I guess. I'd rather stay with Hana if I could get the chance."

Then she smiled at his offer, "I'm still kind of learning, I don't think I'm talented enough to get a real job but I'm willing to learn."

"From the looks of it, your world isn't exactly a resort." Howard raises an eyebrow at her.

"Hey, I didn't start with any medical talent either. I just learned. Everyone acts like you have to start off as a doctor here and that's just bullshit."

"Exactly, and Hana's like the best friend I've ever had. I dunno what I'd do if I had to go back without him." She paused and then "Probably something crazy and stupid."

She smiled at the second part, "Well then sure, I'll learn as I go. Anything to be some help. Beats sitting around waiting for the world to end."

Howard nods. "Yeah. I don't...I guess Zou's my best friend. Here, at least." He can't really compare Zouichi to Orc. It's totally different. Zouichi makes Howard feel safe and wanted where Orc made him feel in control and needed.

"If you come in sometime I'll show you how to stitch."

Edited 2011-12-05 20:51 (UTC)

"He's pretty cool, Hana introduced me to Zou once."

"Really? That sounds awesome. I've seen people do it before but I don't know how yet." She grinned cheerfully, maybe he wasn't always a downer after all.

"Yeah, he's..." Howard can't find exactly how to describe Zou. He pushes Howard to be better. Howard's never felt that before; usually he befriends those who encourage his bad habits and selfish tendencies. He makes Howard feel judged, and yet, at the same time, motivated. "'Pretty cool' suits him."

Howard then goes on to prove Sandy's previous assessment of him as a downer. "Might as well learn. You'll probably need them sooner rather than later."

Sandy rolled her eyes at his addition "Hopefully not for me, but we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"Best seats in the house." Peter said, sticking himself on a wall and resting a cup filled with hot cocoa on the nearest window ledge.

Remarkably for him, he sat there in silence, watching the parade. Until the Spider-Man balloon passed by, at least.

"What."

"I guess you were kind of a big deal."

Sandy had spotted Peter and used the Sensorium's control to bring herself up to his level in time to hear his confusion.

"Where I come from you were just a legend to most people."

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What a day for a Parade

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Hi Sandy!

Hi Howard!!! Welcome to New York!

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