Baltimore, Thursday Afternoon

[soniaroadsqueen]

With no classes on Thursdays, Ringo had decided to take her morning AT run in the city, so she'd left early. And it had been a great run, even if she'd had to be careful not to do anything too visible. No need to draw any official attention, after all. In fact, she'd gotten so caught up in the joy of riding in an actual city that she'd lost track of time and almost forgotten about her deal with Kathy.

Ringo and Kathy had been talking about a shopping trip for quite a while, but just this week they'd handwavily made plans to actually do one. A flurry of text messages had them agreeing to meet up at one of the stores Kathy knew in Baltimore.

She probably still could have made it on time if she hadn't gotten turned around once or twice trying to find the right address. American addresses didn't really make any sense, and she didn't know Baltimore that well, and thank goodness for GPS in phones.

So she arrived a couple of minutes late, face flushed from the rush, with a ripped pair of jeans and a tshirt that were a lot better suited for an AT ride than convincing anyone that she had a real fashion sense.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, already apologizing for making Kathy wait.

[NFB for distance]

Comments

[soniaroadsqueen]

"He figured out where you were, though? Went in after you?"

Sounded like someone deserved some sort of reward.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was making him three dozen apology cupcakes?

"Sort of?" Kathy said. "I lugged the survivor in the tenth floor apartment out to the balcony and by that time I'd inhaled a decent amount of smoke. He heard me coughing and jumped down to grab us both."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Would," Ringo paused, swallowing. "What would you have done if he hadn't?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Pushed through it and climbed down," Kathy admitted. "Emergency services had almost arrived by then, leaving the guy on the balcony would probably had ensured his survival, especially if I'd tied something bright to let them know he was there."

Which she would have had to go back into his house to get, because she hadn't been in her Banzai gear.

"Though if Dante hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to go downstairs at all. It would have taken me too long to lug the parents from the eleventh floor out to their balcony instead."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo frowned slightly. "Would you have gone down there anyway?" she asked.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I don't know if I would have had a chance to," Kathy said. "I wouldn't have wanted to get caught in there. I didn't have my mask or anything to disguise myself and that would have been a lot of questions to answer."

She bit her lip and added, "...I still might have tried. Though I doubt I would have made it in time. I was almost too late as it was."

[soniaroadsqueen]

The frown on Ringo's face deepened. It wasn't really an expression of disapproval, just one of confusion. "Why?" she asked. "You said the fire department was already on its way. Wasn't it their job to do that?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy also looked confused. Wasn't the answer obvious? "Because by the time they got there, the guy on the tenth floor would have been dead and possibly the ones on the eleventh as well. I knew they weren't going to get there in time. Between the smoke and the flames, those people had only minutes to live."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo looked thoughtful. "So you risked your life for theirs? All of them?" Again, not disapproving, just trying to understand. "Even at the end when there was a chance you might not make it back out?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm a superhero, Ringo," Kathy said, shrugging. "It's what I do. I mean, usually it's staring down guys with guns and telling them to hand their drugs over, but it still dangerous either way."

She sighed and looked away. "If I'd--if I'd really thought I was going to die, I probably would have cut my losses. I mean, I'm not up to actually killing myself to save people. But I couldn't just back down because I was scared."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I guess," Ringo said after a few moments of silence to think about that. "I guess I never really thought about what it is you do. What it means to be a 'superhero'." Her eyes were serious. Slightly worried. "It's scary," she said. "And I know it's selfish of me, but I don't like the idea that some night you might just not come back from Baltimore."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean--I can't, like, promise that you have nothing to worry about," Kathy admitted. "Because that's disingenuous at best. But I'm fast and I'm agile and I usually have the element of surprise on my side. But it's something that I can't really give up. What I do is too important. Maybe not in the grand scheme of things, but to me."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah," Ringo said softly. "I get that. And, well, it wouldn't be fair for me to tell you to stop just because I'm scared."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I wouldn't listen anyway," Kathy admitted. "I'm doing something important, Ringo. My actions matter. It's...it's a heady feeling."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Another slow nod. "Maybe," again Ringo trailed off, shaking her head. Not sure she should speak the thought that had just occurred to her until she'd had time to think about it more.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Maybe...?" Kathy prompted.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo sighed. "Maybe sometime I could go with you?" she said hesitantly. "I guess, well, I don't really get why it's so important to you. I understand that it is, but I'd like to, you know, get it." She just wasn't sure that was a good idea.

[spin_kick_snap]

"If you want to?" Kathy said, but hesitated. "I'm concerned, though. Ringo, the stuff I do is dangerous. I don't want you to get mixed up in something you might not be able to handle."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ringo snorted at that. "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself," she said with a shake of her head.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean, I know you said you fought before..." Kathy said, still sounding uncertain.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well," Ringo pursed her lips, "I wouldn't want to worry you, or distract you. And maybe it's not even a good idea, but, well, I want to understand why this means so much to you."

She thought for a moment. "Maybe I could show you sometime? What it means to be the Thorn Queen?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy nodded. "That would help, yeah," she agreed. "It's not that I don't think you can handle yourself, but I've never seen exactly what it is you can do."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo smiled, the dangerous glint leaving her eyes. "No, I get it. And if you do decide to take me out with you sometime, I wouldn't want you to feel like you had to worry about me." She shrugged. "So I understand wanting to be careful."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean, you wouldn't take me out to an Air Trek battle between the Road monarchs, would you?" Kathy asked, reaching out to tangle her fingers with hers. "You're my friend, Ringo. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt."

[soniaroadsqueen]

That made Ringo smile and blush again. She squeezed Kathy's fingers. "I know," she said softly. "And it means a lot to me, so thanks. But it's the same for me, you know? I don't want to see you get hurt. So, well, I guess that's why I want to understand why you do what you do. So that maybe I'll worry less when you're out there maybe getting hurt."