Scene 27 - May 30th

Interior High Stakes Bar, Continuous

Quinn Kaufman

Maria returned a few moments later with a slight, dark-skinned young woman, maybe a year or three older than me, who wore mostly pink - hair dyed in a pink undercut, pink dress, pink heels, pink fishnets. Even the cocktail she was holding was pink.

“Saige! So glad you could make it,” Essa said to her, just as cheerful as she had been all night. “Sorry about the slight delay, just a few private things I had to sort out with Quinn and Holly here. Everything’s fine now, don’t worry.”

“Glad to hear it,” Saige said. “Uh, is there a seat for me?”

“You can take mine,” Essa offered as Maria sat, rising, then plopped herself in her wife’s lap instead of in a chair of her own. Maria wrapped one arm around Essa’s waist to secure her as the smaller woman pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Thanks.” Saige said as she sat in the newly-vacated seat. “I hope the argument wasn’t about me, I don’t want to cause any trouble between friends.”

“Not at all!” Essa assured her. “It wasn’t even an argument, really.”

Saige seemed unsure, but nodded. “So, uh, I’m Saige Sanders. I know Essa and Maria, obviously, but who are the rest of you?”

“Abe.”

“Emilia Alvarez.”

“Holly.”

“Quinn Kaufman, nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure,” Saige said. “What were you guys talking about before the, uh, not-argument?”

“Well, Quinn and Holly here recently graduated from college,” Abe said, nodding towards us. “What were your degrees again?”

“Biology, concentrating in metahuman biology,” I said. “With a minor in art.”

“Dual major in magical studies and art.

“Nice, fellow artists!” Saige said, raising a hand - I obliged her with a high-five. “I doubled in art and chemistry myself. Congrats on graduating!” She took a sip of her drink. “I hope you didn’t end up with as much debt as me.”

I shook my head. “My dad worked for NVU, so I got free tuition.”

“Nice.”

“I waited to disown my parents until after my last semester was paid for,” Holly said with a faint smile. I was glad to see that she was using it as fodder for jokes - it bode well for how she was feeling about the whole thing.

Stolen story; please report.

“Very nice,” Saige chuckled. “That’s the way to do it, for sure. I just went to a college I couldn’t afford and went into debt for my entire life.”

“Well, chemistry’s got to have some high-paying jobs, right?” I said encouragingly.

She sighed. “Not as many as you might think. I suppose my current gig is pretty good, but you would not believe how high my debts have gotten.” She sipped her cocktail again, then shook her head. “But hey, let’s get off the topic of my dumbass life choices, huh? How ‘bout them Champions?”

Abe chuckled, and I couldn’t help but join him - After all, more than half of the New Champions were sitting right at the table with her.

“What about them?” Essa asked. “They haven’t done much recently, have they?” she added with a teasing wink at Abe.

Saige shrugged. “I guess not super recently, but, uh, there was that big thing a few months back, right? With those weird knight guys who invaded the MLED Compound?”

“The Round Table,” I said.

“Yeah, them.”

“But that was ages ago,” Abe pointed out. “It’s been nearly five months since they were seen.”

“But they can’t remain underground forever, can they?” I pointed out. “Villains do villainy. It’s a thing.” I tried not to stare at Essa or Maria as I spoke.

Saige snorted, then covered her mouth shyly. “Okay, yes,” she said, “villains do villainy, but, like, not all villains do it openly, right? Some villains are just, like, facilitators. They sell shit to other villains, or work for other villains. Maybe that’s what they’re doing.”

“Then why attack personally?” Holly asked.

“Maybe they were trying to steal something,” she suggested. “Or lots of somethings - whatever they could get. It could take months and months for them to sell it off, depending on how much they stole.”

“...that’s a thought,” Abe said pensively. “Something to look into, at least. Maybe if Essa can’t poach you, we’ll have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I work for the MLED,” he said. “In, uh, the analyst division.”

Saige eyed him. “Just an analyst? You’re ripped as hell, dude.”

“He’s taken,” Emilia said, pressing a kiss to Abe’s cheek. “And we’re not open to anyone else right now, sorry.”

“Just an observation, relax. I’m only into girls anyway.”

“If they’re selling to other villains, I don’t know if there’s anything the Champions could do about that,” Holly began.

“Unless any of those villains decided to offer information to the MLED.”

“Oh, like that’s ever gonna happen.”

“I bet it happens sometimes,” I said, remembering that the tip-off about the drug deal that I had helped Abe stopped the night we met had come from the Magnificent Maxwell. “Maybe not often, but sometimes.”

“It does,” Abe agreed.

“Point is, the Champions probably shouldn’t be obsessing over them,” Holly said. “They should look to the future, and just try to be ready for whatever happens.”

Saige shrugged. “It was just a thought, anyway. It could be something completely different.”

“My personal theory,” Essa mused, absently swirling the remainder of her beer, “is that they’re planning some kind of big event as a follow up. Rumors say that they wound up with some kind of large power source, which they’ll use to fuel their next plan.”

“...is that what rumors say?” Abe asked, eying her.

She shrugged. “Just rumors,” she confirmed, and he nodded.

“Whatever,” I said, wanting to get off the topic - if we stayed on it too long, I was certain that I would give something away. “They ought to focus on the future.”

“You should do that too, you know,” Emilia said to us. “I know college is great, but it’s also over now - don’t get too wrapped up in it, you know? Remember your friends, but also move on with your life. Focus on what you have now, and what you’re working towards.”

“That...” My eyes fell on Holly. “...sounds like pretty good advice, honestly.” Focus on what we have and what we’re working towards, without getting wrapped up in the past? I thought I might be able to handle that.

Holly met my eyes, smiling. “Yeah, I think it is.”

Abe raised his glass. “To the future!” he declared.

“To the future,” we echoed, clinking our glasses against his.