noteful | Birthday Party for Laura/X-23

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Birthday Party for Laura/X-23

It's a pretty low-key party, all things considered, and not significantly different than the one Parker or Meg would have thrown in a dorm room for a friend at home, not-exactly-traditional menu not withstanding.

There's music, low enough to talk over (and maybe with a little more folk in the mix than one expects to find a party). Balloons and streamers in purple and blue and red. A place to leave presents. People to meet or catch up with.

And, most importantly, a chance to wish X-23 (or Laura) a very happy birthday.

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"Yeah."

She may or may not remember to do that.

Then, sounding curious rather than impatient or bored, "How long do these usually go on?"

"A few hours," Dinah says. "I don't know, it's been a long time since someone invited me to a party."

Elle nods. Like she knows exactly what that's like.

Still - "Guess that's why you don't know how to spot the evil balloons."

"Well, none of the parties I've been to have been the sort to have evil balloons," Dinah says, defensively.

And adds,

"Grown ups don't have balloons."

"Oh."

Elle... knew that. Right.

"Then why'd they get them for this?"

"Because Laura's our age?"

Dinah meant grown ups in the bad way.

Elle is really six years older than X. But she'd be about the last person to realize that.

So she says, "... yeah," as though she clearly knew that the whole time.

And then, admits, "I haven't been to one of these in a while, either."

"Me neither," Dinah admits.

"I don't have much in common with the kids at school."

From second-hand knowledge, Elle can get what Dinah means by this.

But, as though she thinks it'll be just as helpful an explanation, "I didn't go to school."

Beat. "Mostly."

"Homeschooled?"

Dinah sounds utterly sympathetic. "School's the only thing in my life that's remotely normal."

She hasn't heard that word for it before.

So instead of answering, she asks, uncertain, "And you - like it?"

"School?"

Dinah's tone is lightly sprinkled with a round of 'are you kidding?'

"It's alright. I have nothing in common with half of the kids, though."

In Elle's incredibly limited experience, this seems to be a common opinion. But it never ends up beating down her curiosity.

"What, they can't do what you do?" Her tone is somewhat sarcastic, but tempered by the fact that, well, she doesn't know.

It's not that Dinah doesn't catch the sarcasm, it's just that that's the point.

"Exactly," she says. "And it's not like I can tell them what I do."

X used to go to some mutant-school-thing. Elle never knows what to expect.

"So they... don't know about things like that, in your world?"

"They know we exist," Dinah says. "It's pretty hard to miss the Justice Society, or Superman. We just don't want people to know who we are."

"So... you have fake names like that? Like in X's world?"

This will probably never stop being weird to Elle. 'Superman' doesn't sound like just an alias for a job.

"Codenames? Yeah, everyone's got one. I'm the Black Canary."

Elle doesn't really get it.

But instead of asking, she answers, "We don't... have those in my world."

"It's dangerous otherwise," Dinah explains, almost apologetic for her world. "If our enemies find out who we are, they could target our families."

"... because they all know about you."

She says it like it's still a very weird thing.

"Well, crime prevention makes the news," Dinah says. "And Mom was kind of high profile with the Justice Society."

"And... people are okay with it?"

Pause. "Besides, um..."

In a carefully enunciated way, "Those - enemies?"

That's a complicated question.

"...Why wouldn't they be?"

"Because..."

There isn't really a word yet for what people like Elle do. But what seems to come up most often, next to 'special,' is 'freak.'

"... they don't like it. When you do things they can't."

Birthday Party for Laura/X-23

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