Gimme a break, Kit-Kat!

[Freight Train]

Freight Train sat on the front steps of the Redención House tying up her shoelaces and watching the street for her best friend Taya's Celica. The last time they'd seen each other face-to-face was at Cullen's Institute, sometime before she'd run away. Since then they'd kept in touch via them world wide internets, but it wasn't at all the same. This was part of the visit to Los Santos that she'd looked forward to the most.

Train secured her laces and hopped down to the sidewalk, hefting her backpack and looking left and right with a hand shielding her eyes from the sun. She wasn't even sure what a Toyota Celica even LOOKED like, but was certain she'd know it when she saw it. It wasn't much longer to wait. Taya rounded a turn near the house and began to drive towards Train, who put her foot up on the House's overturned recycle bin and yanked up on her shorts to show some leg. Taya had barely stopped the car before Train had hauled the door open and tossed herself in just hard enough to test the suspension.

"Kit-Kat, thank you for breaking of a piece of time for me to have an actual break with you." She leaned across the small space between their seats to hug her friend. "Vacation's been kinda boring so far, to tell the truth. Glad to do something fun."

[Taya Robbins]

This wasn't the first time Taya had been to Redención House, but the last time (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21760) had been strictly business. Well, okay, it had been the exciting kind of business, the sort where you got to meet amazing people and ask them questions that really mattered, the kind that made Taya feel like she was really making a difference as a reporter - but it was business just the same, and she never felt quite like herself when she was wearing a skirt.

But today was a different story. She'd already worked her tail off yesterday researching Treadstone Industries and legal precedent for ethical mutant studies, then stayed up late writing so her story would be on Angela's desk a whole day before the deadline. That meant today was wide open for lunch, a baseball game, and celebratory sushi afterwards. If, that was, she could convince a girl from podunk, Ohio that there was more to sushi than rolled-up raw fish.

Taya grinned ear to ear when she saw Freight Train posing on the curb. She couldn't even get a greeting out before the diminutive bruiser set the car rocking and seized her furry shoulders in a fierce hug.

"Hey, you!" she said, laughing, and she managed to snake out a paw to return Train's sideways hug. "God, it's so good to see you, Train! Man, graduation seems like a long time ago now. You look good! Are you taller?"

[Freight Train]

"God, I hope so," she replied, trying to check her height against Taya's in spite of being seated. "We can see about it later on. You're looking pretty good yourself." Train put her backpack in the floor between her feet as the pair began their drive. "Soooo, how's life on your own? Did you revive newspapers from the dead media yet?" Train tugged the hems of her shorts back down to her knee and settled in, turning the air-conditiong vents to hit her face and neck to save them from the heat.

[Taya Robbins]

"Hey, now, we're at the cutting edge," Taya protested as she threw the Celica back into gear. "I have a Twitter account and everything."

Banyon Street began to whiz by as Taya wound her way toward the main drag. "Feel free to turn down the AC if you want," she said. "I've always got it up because, you know, fur. Anyway, it's been great. I love my apartment, love my new roomie, and work at the Bruin is killer but it's exciting. It's a little weird being on the opposite side of the country from my folks, but I think being at Cullen's helped with that."

She rolled up to a stop sign, glanced both ways across six lanes of busy traffic, made a snap judgment, and lurched out onto the road with only a few honking complaints. The Celica slipped nimbly between a city bus and an Escalade and into the passing lane.

"So," Taya said emphatically, drumming her claws on the steering wheel, "how was your flight into LA? Anything, um... interesting happen on the way in?"

[Freight Train]

"Aw, I wanted a zombie paper," Train mock-pouted, gripping her door handle as Taya cut across the traffic. She didn't address the AC. She was comfortable, and wouldn't have asked or waited for permission to mess with all the buttons and dials on the dashboard anyway. Besides, the question about her flight in had her on edge a bit. The needling tone Taya had taken...

"Interesting?" Freight Train made a show of tilting her head to the side and slightly forward, raising her left eyebrow and setting her mouth in a puzzled frown. "No, it left and arrived on time, and I spent the whole trip reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

She took a glance at Taya; the older girl was wearing her "Oh really?" smirk. Train capitulated to it with a sigh.

"Okay, I got involved in a mutant fight with some Brotherhood goons at the airport after I landed. There was a guy in a business suit who fought on my side against them." She paused, thumbnail tracing the seam where the two components of the door's handle came together. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

[Taya Robbins]

"Well, you kinda made the news, and mutant news is kinda my job now," Taya replied. "They didn't release names, but... I don't know how many girls your size in California can run down terrorists like a Mack truck."

She chewed her lip thoughtfully with a pointed fang and gave Train a sideways glance. "So, are you doing okay? I'm not sure whether to give you a high five or to chew you out."

[Freight Train]

"High five, please." She held her hand up for Taya to five whenever she could spare time from looking at the road. "I wasn't going to get involved, but they were gonna gang up on the suit guy. What was his name? Tom! Yeah, he works at Treadstone." Freight Train fished a badly battered business card from her little wallet. Harriman's name and the Treadstone logo were just visible through the thousands of creases on it's surface.

"He promised to make me really tough shoes." Train placed the card on the console between them so Taya could check it out at the next red light. "I'mma hold him to it, too! Later on I'mma visit the company and check the progress."

[Taya Robbins]

The Celica drew up a little short at the next red light with a brief squeal from the tires on the hot asphalt. Taya swatted the now-flying business card against the dash and stared at it in mild shock.

"Tom Harriman?" she exclaimed. "I was just at his press conference yesterday! He didn't say anything about that!"

[Freight Train]

The younger girl braced herself on the dashboard as Taya screeched her car to a halt. "Jeeeez, if I'd known you'd try to kill me over it, I wouldn'a mentioned it!" She sat back and blinked with a hard shake of her head. "Whew! Yeah. I dunno why he didn't say anything. Probably doesn't want any bad press. Bee-tee-dubs, cool that you got into a big-time press conference. I didn't watch it myself. Ronnie at the House needed his butt whupped in some Street Fighter."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya winced, complete with ear-splaying action. "Sorry, catlike reflexes," she said. "But, thanks, I was really blown away when my editor told me I was going. Student reporters hardly ever go to things like that, and then it's usually seniors, I mean, I was between NPR and Time Magazine, and there was even someone from BBC with this adorable accent--"

A brash horn from the Cadillac behind them startled Taya out of her stream of consciousness, and she glanced up at the green light and goosed the Celica back into the flow of traffic.

"Anyway... I guess it was a good thing you were able to stop those guys from doing whatever they were planning to do. Things are a lot different here from what I expected. I mean, yeah, I knew Los Angeles had the biggest mutant population in the United States, but on one hand you've got people like Anna Fernandez and Redención House and the Mutant Crimes Unit, and on the other you've got mutant street gangs, and those creepy riot cops who showed up at the Rally, and some punks tagging our front door at the apartment, and... and this is the exact opposite of what I wanted us to be talking about. Sorry."

[Freight Train]

Train scoffed, resting her hands behind her head and fairly lounged now that traffic was moving at a more relaxed pace. "I don't care. We can talk about it all we like, if that's what you need to talk about. Nothing like that has really happened in my hometown. People look at me funny and give me a little extra space, but that's about it. Nobody wants to be called a bigot, but nobody wants to really treat me right, either. I saw about the Rally, thought it was weird. Glad the you and the House people came out fine."

The adorable bruiser lazily ran her fingertip along the top edge of her window. "But if you wanna talk about something else, fine. Where we going?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya glanced at the girl kicking back in her passenger's seat and couldn't help but smile. Train had that way about her, a confidence that far outstripped the limits of her diminutive frame, like she knew where her feet were planted and didn't care who tried to shift her. She was more comfortable in her own skin than anyone else Taya had ever known, and that garnered a lot of admiration from someone who'd been forced into an entirely different skin by genetic lottery.

Taya very nearly said something about that, but fortunately Train spoke up again before she had a chance to turn the outing any more maudlin.

"Oh! Yes! I almost forgot I hadn't told you yet! So..."

She grinned broadly, inviting a comparison to felines who poached household birds, which Riley probably wouldn't approve of, and rummaged for something in the plastic tray in the driver's side door.

"Okay, so, at these major press conferences, companies like Treadstone usually put out a couple tables full of goodies for the press. You know, gift cards, coupons, sometimes even electronics. It's not exactly ethical, but it happens all the time. Well, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole, so it was already picked pretty clean when I got there, but then Rita Sutherland of the LA Times told me she couldn't use these..."

She drew out a pair of glossy blue tickets and held them aloft in her paw. Emblazoned across the top of each was the Dodgers' logo.

[Freight Train]

"Whoa! Baseball tickets!? We're going to see free baseball!?"

Train shot up in her seat, gripping her seat to keep from reaching across Taya's field of vision. "Awesome! Dodgers and who? I wanna seeeeeeee!"

Of all sports, basketball was Train's notorious favorite. But, coming from a sporting home, she had a broader appreciation than most of her old Cullen's friends realized. Baseball was a great sport to her. Instantly she was in the mood to slouch in a chair with her feet up and be surrounded by junk food. Such was her traditional method of enjoying it with her Dad, but Train figured Taya'd be good for it, too, if the prices weren't gouged too badly.

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, just some farmboy team from Ohio called the Reds..."

Taya dropped the tickets fluttering in Train's lap with a mercurial grin. Of course, it had been quite a while since she had seen a game herself, or she might have questioned why they were so big and fancy looking, or why the seat numbers were preceded by the word Suite.

[Freight Train]

"You stop. The Reds aren't my favorite, but they're from home! Do not talk about my boys that way," she admonished with a mock finger-wag. She snatched the tickets up off her knee and scrutinized them closely, holding them mere inches from her face, then squealed and grabbed Taya's shirt, shaking her rapidly.

"KIT-KAT! KIT-KAT, THESE ARE BOX SEATS! YOU HAVE BOX SEATS! BOX SEATS! SEATS DEL BOX, KIT-KAT!"

[Taya Robbins]

If Taya had been fully human, she wouldn't have been capable of appreciating (or suffering) the full range of frequencies Freight Train's voice had just hit. If anything, that was even more distracting than the shaking. Out of reflex, her ears pasted themselves flat against her skull. It was a good thing they'd reached another stoplight.

"Gaaaahhh, what? Ow, easy on the ears!" She ground the heel of her paw into the one facing Freight Train, which had taken the brunt of it, and was now fluttering pathetically. "Box eats what now?"

[Freight Train]

"Box. Seats," she said slowly, enunciating with exaggerated clarity. "We. Have. Tickets. In. A. Big. Wig. Suite." Train had managed to control her volume, but she still had a deathclaw grip on Taya's clothes. "Didn't you read the tickets? How did you not even look at them until now?"

Train sat back, jarring the car a bit as she hit the backrest and held the tickets up to admire them. "I want my ticket stub framed. OH! I gotta tell dad!" Her phone was out in a flash, her thumbs dancing a rapid, cacophonic rhythm on the keypad as she texted, dictating with apparent relish. "Got bos seats to Dodgers vs Reds. NYYYAAAAAH heh heh!" She giggled as she sent it and dropped the phone, ignoring it as it slid off the edge of the seat and into the floorboard.

[Taya Robbins]

"Well, I looked at them, but I didn't see--"

Taya turned Train's wrist so she could get a better look at the tickets. "I thought Suite just meant like, the section... Holy crap, we've got box seats?!"

The Cadillac blared behind them again, and Taya once more lurched ahead to join the moving string of traffic. "Ack, I really need to drive. So, um..."

Taya's paws fairly danced on the steering wheel as she merged toward the onramp to the 105. "The game starts at 1:15. I was thinking of just grabbing some In-N-Out on the way in, but I think they have free food in luxury boxes, so..."

A space opened up in front of her on the onramp, and she put her foot down and let the little Toyota eat up the asphalt.

"The stadium's only about half-hour away. So, what have you been up to lately? Besides neglecting your blog?"

[Freight Train]

Excuse me," Train began, putting her hand to her chest in a defensive gesture. "But I am not neglecting anything. It's my membership that's at fault. Why aren't you posting? You got lots of fun stuff to talk about. Press conferences, rallies, riots, and--this is the best one--free box tickets to a baseball game. Also, to hell with In-N-Out. Free food always tastes the best. And free food for high-class business folk? That's gonna taste like heaven on earth." Train paused long enough that it seemed she'd finished talking, then piped back up. "Think there'll be, like, beer 'n' stuff?"

[Taya Robbins]

"I'm pretty sure the beer isn't free," Taya said. "Also, um... neither of us really looks twenty-one. I mean, maybe in cat years?"

She slid through traffic like a Frogger pro and watched for signs for the 110. "Don't tell me you actually A, drink beer and B, like it?"

[Freight Train]

"No, no," she replied with a flippant, dismissive wave. "But in those rare moments when I catch a game without him, Dad always says to have a beer for him." As if on cue, her phone cheered like a stadium full of people, and Train snatched it out of the floorboard. "Yep, here it is. You sure your mutant power isn't to be lucky? Enjoy! Have a beer for me. Love, Dad." She smirked to herself as she pocketed the phone. "Dad always has one when he watches baseball. But I ask because in all the times previous, I haven't had a cool friend to help me fake a pic with one and make him hit the ceiling. Whaddaya say, Kat? Help me stop his tired old joke."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya laughed and shook her head. "Aha, sorry, but I'm eighteen, and you're on your own. I can smell it all the way up the stairwell if anybody's been drinking beer in my apartment building. Too bad Riley's not coming with us. Oh, have I told you about her owls?"

While Taya updated Train on the exploits of her three feathered roommates, the 110 took them within spitting distance of Dodger Stadium. After several anxious minutes of circling immense parking lots in search of an open spot, they were trekking across acres of asphalt along alongside an ever-thickening crowd of humanity toward the stadium. Taya perched a Dodgers cap between her ears to block the all-out assault of the midday sun, but it didn't do anything to ward off curious eyes. Second and third glances tended to follow her everywhere she went.

"Okay, so, confession time?" she said. "The only Dodgers player I actually know about is Manny Ramirez. Now, if this was UCLA men's lacrosse, I'd be all over it."

[Freight Train]

Train stuck her tongue out at Taya. She'd honestly forgotten how old the taller mutant was. She'd had her pegged as being at least 20. Ah, well. There'd be other days to troll her dad. The mid-western juggernaut listened patiently through all the talk of Riley--a winged girl with owl pets, or something. Train couldn't have cared less, and felt a little bad for her lack of interest in Taya's roommate, but shorty wasn't interested in new friends at the moment, not when she had so much catching up to do with her old ones.

Train walked nonchalantly through the lot, ignoring the stares as best she could. As it turned out, much as she racked her brain, Train couldn't name any Dodgers players. She knew a few of the key players for the Reds, but didn't care to show Taya up with it. She had a mind to pick on her about the lacrosse team, tho.

"Lacrosse is a nerd sport. Bet you don't even know the rules! You're just there to check out the man-booty."

She grinned broadly, squinting half from the smile and half from the sun in her eyes. Of course, Taya was big fan of lacrosse, and Train knew it. Let it be a lesson to Kit-Kat: When the Freight Train wants pranks and trolling, she's gonna get it!

[Taya Robbins]

Taya playfully bumped her elbow through Train's mop of short, black hair - she was one of the few people over the age of ten who was short enough for Taya to do that.

"Yeah, whatever," she said. "Don't make me hit you with my crosse. Besides, the man-booty is way better in lacrosse than in baseball."

And, on that note, it was kinda too bad Antonio didn't play. Wait, no! Bad hindbrain!

They filtered in through the stadium gates with the rest of the herd and then burst out into the cool, shaded concourse lined with concession stands and memorabilia shops. There were stairwells leading to the upper decks and vomitoria (awesome word!) that led out to the ground-level bleacher seating around home plate and the baselines. Taya craned her neck looking for suite signage, but didn't see anything.

"It's another half hour before the opening pitch... you want to find our seats or look around a little bit?"

[Freight Train]

"Let's at least find where we're supposed to go for our seats before we shop around. I don't wanna have to scramble to get there before the Reds start winning--I mean, before the game begins."

The crowds were thinner away from the main vending area. The fans were taking their time, wandering about in loose groups or congregating along the walls or in lines before the food stands. Freight Train had a sudden, worrying thought as they passed a hot dog stand.

"So, uh, just how fancy do you think the food is in the box-thingy? Am I gonna hafta drink outta a teacup with my pinky out? I want hotdogs and Coke and chili fries."

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, you know," Taya said airily. "Foie gras, caviar... You can get that in pretty much any McDonald's in California, so I'm expecting nothing less than pig trotters and live lobster--"

She held on until she caught a hip bump from Train that was heartier than it should have been coming from an eighty pound girl, and then she cracked up. "All right, I have no idea," she admitted. "There have to be hot dogs, though. I mean, it's like a law."

Farther on they found a couple photo booths and one of those pitching ranges with a speed gun to test your arm against the big leagues, but they were nearing the outfield now still with no sign of box seating. Taya padded up to a uniformed usher who did an outstanding job of not jumping when a two legged cat tapped her on the shoulder.

In moments the two mutants were rushing to get to an elevator before the doors closed - someone helpfully hit the open button, which was a relied, because if Train had gotten there first she might have caved the doors in. "Thanks," Taya said, breathless as she and Train piled in.

The other four people in the elevator drew back and held their breath - you could almost feel the air go out of the car. Taya stood there and tried to feel normal as four pairs of eyes bored into her.

And then, mercifully, the little girl clutching her mother's hand said, "Are you real, or are you a costume?"

Taya beamed, and she quickly smiled at the girl before her mother could call the innocent question rude. "Sure am real, honey," she said. "Fur, tail, and everything."

The kid looked Taya up and down with a keen, appraising eye. "You look like my nanna's cat," she decided.

"Your nanna's cat must be a cutie, then," Taya replied with a wink. The elevator slid to a halt, and the girl's mother held her back by the shoulder as Taya and Train disembarked.

[Freight Train]

"Ew. Ew. Eeeeww-uh. Stoppit, Kit-Kat." She stepped once, a little quicker than she had been, and swung a hip at Taya that tested her cat-balance. She softened a bit at the reassurance that there'd be some kind of junk at the box, sighing happily again. "Maybe I'll stick my pinky out anyway." She affected a patently false, Hollywood-style British accent. "A-hrm, yes. Chili cheese fries, quite. Yes, smashing!"

The search wore on. Train, ever stubborn, steadily ignored the ushers, but Taya, ever practical, got directions and together the mutant girls made the elevator right on time. The tenseness was palpable. Train wondered if there was something she could say that would make it better, but couldn't come up with anything that wasn't hostile, and so stood studying the elevator buttons in silence.

She was grateful when at last the little girl broke the awkward silence, asking questions with the open-minded curiosity that society hadn't yet stamped out of her. Taya handled herself well, and as they left the elevator Train bumped Taya with her hip again.

"I know I've got a lady-crush on you," she teased. "Dunno how you handle all the staring, Kit-Kat. Wish I knew something to do to make 'em stop, y'know?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya smiled softly in thanks.

"The staring isn't so bad," she said. "I could even take pointing and laughing. It's when everybody gets quiet like I've got some kind of horrible disfigurement. At least kids say what they're thinking, and you can talk about it."

They stood on a balcony raised above the crowded concourse with numbered doors on the inner wall, which was painted and molded more like a hotel than a stadium. Someone in dress whites pushed a trolley full of deliciously steaming covered platters down the corridor; Taya's followed the food until she spotted the sign for Suite 113.

"Aha!" She rubbed the glossy ticket in her paw and struck out for the suite entrance. "Anyway, if you really want to take the attention off me, you could always smash through a couple walls."

[Freight Train]

"Could," she conceded, stretching her arms up and walking briefly on her tip-toes. "I thought about it a few times, in the parking lot. I don't wanna cause a riot by running, though, and make things even worse for us. I like my power, but it can't solve every problem. Or it could, if we don't mind being renegade and just annihilating stuff." They reached their suite and entered. Train fumbled her social grace at the door.

"Oh my GOD! This is amazing!" she squealed, hands flying into the air.

[Taya Robbins]

It was something like the living room of a luxury condo. There was a granite countertop with bar seating, and a sink and a fridge that was probably stocked to the ceiling with sodas and beer, and along one wall was a hot bar piled high with steaming food - vats of roast beef and sliced pork, hotdogs on heated rollers, trays of bruschetta, bowls of greens and potato salad, stacks and stacks of rolls - the opposite wall was dominated by multiple flatscreen TVs showing local coverage and three other baseball games, and at the far end was floor-to-ceiling glass with a door to access the bleacher seating outside over the center of the third base line, and in the middle of it all was a coffee table loaded with hors d'oeuvres and surrounded by easy chairs occupied by men in tailored suits, who all turned to stare at the pint-sized girl with her hands raised in the doorway.

Taya hovered behind Train's shoulder, not sure whether to nudge her in or drag her back out for a fresh approach when a woman dressed like a maitre'd stepped out of the kitchenette to greet them. "Hello, can I help you?"

Taya held up her ticket. "I think we're in the right place?" she said.

The hostess glanced at her ticket and waved them in. "You sure are! My name's Audrey. Come on in, help yourselves to some food and beverages, and let me know if you need anything else."

Taya grinned and prodded her friend on through the door. "Come on, girl, those smells are driving me crazy!"

Audrey took in a sudden breath - you could almost see the health code flashing in front of her eyes as she glanced over Taya. "You know what, why don't you point out what you want, and I'll be happy to serve you."

Right... fur and public food typically didn't mix. At least Audrey was being diplomatic about it - Taya had been asked to leave restaurants before. Some had even pointed out that there were no animals allowed inside.

She offered the hostess a smile of resignation. "That'll be fine."

[Freight Train]

"NO," Train spoke up, tiny fists posted on her hips. "Why can't she serve herself!? She doesn't shed. She's not gonna mess your food up." Even as she spoke, the bruiser was loading up from the bar with whatever she thought looked good, building her pile of junk so she could go have a nest on the bleacher seats outside. "C'mon, show some proverbial balls and let her do her own thing."

[Taya Robbins]

"I said it's fine."

Taya's smile actually remained mostly unchanged, but you could see the tension in the angle of her ears and in the rhythm of her tail. With so many tells, it was difficult to keep them all in check.

Audrey's eyebrows crimped slightly in concern, and Taya felt bad for her. She knew the hostess was only trying to head off any potential complaints from the other guests. "I don't want to be any trouble. My friend can help me."

"It's no trouble at all," Audrey said, but she took a respectful step back. "Let me know if you need anything."

[Freight Train]

Train stuck her tongue out and handed Taya a plate. She didn't like the compromise (she'd never been good at it, herself) but it was better in her mind than the idea of Audrey helping.

"Just name it and I'll grab it," she assured Taya. "Seriously, what the crap? Do they always do this to you, Kit-Kat? Because I will steamroll some restaurants if I find out you've been getting this from anyone else."

[Taya Robbins]

"Just in places where you have to serve yourself," Taya said in a quiet voice. "Look, it's no big deal. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you have to pick your battles. Otherwise you're always fighting."

In the work of moments, they each had a heaping plate and a can of soda, and they picked their way past the loudly talking suits out onto the balcony, which held about thirty bleacher seats. The teams were already warming up on the field, which looked far more enormous than it ever had on TV, and far greener than any grass could be. There was already a smattering of people in their seats, mostly dressed much more casually than the crowd in the lounge, seeing as these people were actually here to see the game.

Expertly balancing her plate, Taya dashed down to the front row so she could lean over the rail for a better look. Any awkwardness at the buffet line was completely forgotten.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing!"

[Freight Train]

Later that night, in bed, Train would realize that the perfect rebuttal to Taya's statement would've been that for mutantkind as a whole, every day was fighting prejudice and oppressive law, but right now she let it slide and expertly tossed herself into a chair, laying out her food around her. Bam, instant junkfood nest. She kicked her shoes off and put her feet up, popped the tab on her drink, and took a long sip.

"Ah, yes. At last, I am Queen of my own personal ballpark. Loyal Retainer Kit-Kat! Come sitteth your catbutt beside me and drink in our glory."

This was life. This was the way baseball was meant to be watched. No moment for the rest of her summer would match this, she was sure of it.

[Taya Robbins]

Top of the 1st Inning
CIN: 0
LAD: 0

"Nononono stay in stay in stay in!"

Taya gripped her large, feline ears in her paws as the ball went skying over the pitcher's head toward center field, well beyond the reach of the Dodgers' outfielders. But as if a charitable wind were blowing down out of Mt. Washington, the ball dropped to the warning track and skipped into the stands for a ground rule double, sending Chris Dickerson to second base. Taya was no baseball junkie, but even she knew a lead-off double wasn't a good way for a pitcher to start off an afternoon.

[Freight Train]

"Aaaand that's what she said," replied the baseball-watching-bruiser. "I could say that's what you said, but that's redundant and dumb."

Willy Taveras stepped up to bat and Train leered at Taya. "Okay, here we go. gonna be a run." But Mr. Taveras was not up to the task; his bunt sent Dickerson only as far as third. "Okay, so third. Not quite home, but here's my boy Joe Votto to make it happen. C'mon, Joey, slam Dickerson home." Votto annihilated the ball, the white sphere of triumph racing through the right field for a double to bring Dickerson in for the game's first point.

"Hey. Hey, Kit-Kat. Hey." Train was grinning again, poking Taya in the ribs. "Hey. Guess what? NYEEEEEEH HEH HEH!" Train stuck her tongue out at her best friend, leaning over towards her so much she fell onto the cat mutant and had to grab Taya's shoulders to support herself. "Oh, I loves baseballs."

[Taya Robbins]

"Ack! Hey, watch the sandwiches!"

Taya barely managed to keep her food from spilling to the floor, as much because she was laughing uncontrollably as because of Train's brand of fan interference. "God, you're horrible! You won't see me acting like that when the Dodgers annihilate your precious farmboys!"

Bottom of the 1st Inning
CIN: 1
LAD: 0

Taya had to endure a few more rib-pokes as Rafael Furcal grounded out to second base and Orlando Hudson struck out swinging. She held her fingers crossed as Andre Ethier stepped up to face the golden arm of Bronson Arroyo. Until a resounding CRACK! brought her to her feet.

"Yes! Yes! Go, go, go, go, go! YEEEEEEEESSS!"

The ball sailed into the centerfield bleachers, and fireworks thundered over the stadium as the words HOME RUN flashed across the big screen.

CIN: 1
LAD: 1

"Hey, Freight Train! Hey! Heeeeey!" Taya poked her diminutive friend back with just enough claw to remind her that she had them.

[Freight Train]

"Well, what fun would it be if we just wiped the floor up with you Dodgers? Ow!" The Ohio-born juggernaut swatted at her friend's paws and leaned away, threatening to upset the plate of hotdogs that balanced on that armrest. "Just relax, we'll get one up on you again here in the second."

Top of the 3rd Inning
CIN: 1
LAD: 1

"Oh my God, Kit-Kat, make someone hit the ball so a guy can run around to the home plate. Pretty please, Kit-Kat? I'm starting to think we've seen the most exciting part already. It was the top of the first, when my boy Votto batted in that double."

[Dahlia Ericsson]

Bottom of the 4th Inning
CIN: 1
LAD: 2

She sat on the far end of the front row of seats, smoothing out her Kemp jersey (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=48504553) as settled herself. It was hard to maintain her sense of decorum when the Dodgers were playing...and breaking the one-one tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Dahlia adored baseball...Dodger blue had been running in the Ericsson family veins since the 1940's. When her grandfather had passed away some few years back, he had stipulated in his will that they bury him with his autographed Jackie Robinson cap. There was even a photograph hanging in the luxury box behind them of a five year old Dahlia in a little Dodgers jersey, standing proudly with her grandfather in the dugout - flanked by Charlie Hough and Don Sutton.

Audrey came up behind her with a discreet cough and a fresh soda. Normally, she'd have indulged in a couple of beers, but with a number of Treadstone investors currently glutting themselves on the buffet and ignoring the game, Dahlia had thought better of it. Fingers adjusted her hat and tucked a loose blonde curl behind her ear before she picked up the cup and took a sip of the Coke.

"Audrey, would you mind getting a few boxes of Cracker Jacks and bringing me one? I'd appreciate it." Dahlia said, shooting a bright smile over her shoulder.

"Of course, Miss Ericsson. I'll be right back." the woman replied cheerfully, making her way back inside to comply with her request.

[Taya Robbins]

"This must be what you Midwestern types call small ball," Taya said, licking the remains of her third sandwich off her claws. "Aren't pitcher's duels supposed to be the good games?"

She winked at Train and leaned back in her seat, propping her oversized feet on the rail in front of her. Truth be told, she didn't know baseball well enough to really sink her teeth into the game. Her competitive spirit would probably well up once they closed in on the final inning, and she and Train would be at each other's throats, but for now she was content to bask in the lap of luxury seating, free food, and good company.

And then her sensitive ears swiveled at the sound of Audrey's voice on the other side of the aisle. Taya turned her head toward the slender blonde woman in the Dodgers jersey. The catlike mutant hadn't paid much attention to her before - she was so engrossed in the game that it seemed rude to interrupt. But the name stirred up the hours and hours of research Taya had done on Treadston leading up to the conference. Reporter and a feline? Curiosity trumped politeness every time.

"Oh, excuse me, did she call you Miss Ericsson? You wouldn't be related to Dahlia Ericsson, by any chance? The Treadstone president?"

[Dahlia Ericsson]

Fingers set down the score card and pencil on the empty seat to one side of her, soon joined by her Dodgers cap. Dahlia ran her hands through her hair before smiling and turning towards the two girls on the other side of the short central aisle.

"Actually, I am Dahlia Ericsson." she replied as she rose and shifted over to the seat at the end of the aisle, offering her hand across it for a shake. "Pleased to finally meet you in person, Taya."

Audrey reappeared at that moment, bringing the requested box of Cracker Jacks. Dahlia thanked her and carefully opened the prized box of her favorite ballpark treat.

[Freight Train]

"NO, the fun part is when the ball comes flying into the stand so I can catch it and own it forever." Pitchers duels, really!? The tirade ended early as Taya called out the blonde woman down the row who, if Train was being entirely honest, she hadn't even seen. Freight Train turned her head and leaned back to get a good view of her. Taya knew the Treadstone president!? Seriously?

"Well played, Kit-Kat," she said in deference. "I think she trumps Harriman on knowing-businesspeople scale. Wonder if she knows about my shoes." Train waved frantically to Audrey as she passed by agian. "Hey, I'm sorry about before and I'll be your very bestest friend if you can get me another Coke." Train held up her empty bottle to demonstrate her need and flailed a little as Audrey took it and walked away to replace it. "I can throw it away on my own!" Train protested half-heartedly."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya greeted Dahlia's hand with a paw, momentarily on autopilot as she processed the realization that the Treadstone president already knew her name. Maybe it wasn't that hard to believe, since she'd just been at the Treadstone press conference, and she tended to stand out in a crowd. But Dahlia had said she was pleased to finally meet you, as if she'd been waiting for this. It was a little unbalancing.

Taya kept herself buoyed in the moment with a broad smile - people usually responded well to that. "It's good to finally meet you, too!" she said, as if that were perfectly normal. "I was just at your company's press conference yesterday. That's where I got these tickets.

Tickets that were probably supposed to go to a real reporter, she realized, and she quickly tried to change tack.

"My best friend is visiting from Ohio, so it really worked out. I didn't realize you were such a Dodgers fan!"

[Dahlia Ericsson]

"I sign Tom's paychecks...so yes, I trump him." Dahlia offered a cheeky grin before tilting her head to look back down at the field. There was an infield shift going on, and that meant a left-handed batter with a tendency to pull the ball. Glancing down at her very old fashioned paper scorecard, she made a notation and then looked back up to the girls.

"Well I'm glad you ended up with the tickets...normally, I'd be stuck with some stuffy reporter who'd want to talk business the entire time-" the crack of the bat drew Dahlia's attention briefly, and her pencil made a neat little mark on the card in her lap.

"We Ericssons bleed Dodger-blue. Started with my grandfather back in the forties, in fact, and its been going strong ever since."

[Freight Train]

"Business suuuuuucks, moar baseball!" Train yelled, throwing popcorn at the field. She watched the little puffs float way on the breeze to land on people below. "Reds, stop sucking and hit the ball!"

She turned to Dahlia. "By the way, I'm a Reds fan. We bleed red." She turned back to the field and accepted a Coke as Audrey came back. "Kit-Kat, this is my new best friend Audrey, and she's allowed to pick on you now." Audrey smiled thinly, uncertain of what to do with the little loudmouth. She excused herself quietly to go back in where there were people she was accustomed to dealing with. Suddenly, back to Dahlia.

"So, Tom Harrifilger promised me indestructible shoes. What's the ETA on that?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya had long ago decided that a telepath's abilities would be absolutely wasted on Freight Train. It was never a mystery to anyone what was on the petite girl's mind. The challenge was putting it into some kind of comprehensible context. For that, you'd need an army of psychics.

"Freight Train met Dr. Harriman at the airport the other day," Taya explained. "And the name's not an exaggeration, and she really could use a pair of indestructible shoes. Actually, you've got a lot of people interested in what you're doing. But I guess that was the idea?"

She tried not to look too eager, since Dahlia had said she was here for the game, but... come on, a private interview with the President and CEO of Treadstone? Angela was going to flip!

[Dahlia Ericsson]

Dahlia was unable to hide her broad smile at Audrey's obvious discomfort. She was accustomed to dealing with Treadstone employees and business associates who were quite a bit less...enthusiastic, to put it mildly. She took a sip of her soda and nibbled on a piece of caramel-armored popcorn as Taya piped up after Freight Train.

"I heard about the airport incident. Quite the story in the news, actually, I think its still one of the top headlines." Dahlia smiled, taking another sip of her soda as she glanced down at the field for a few moments.

"As for shoes, I haven't the faintest idea. You'd have to ask Tom that directly. But yes, Taya, that was the general idea. As much mutant research as exists, none of it is geared toward truly helping mutants understand and control their abilities. We want to change that."

[Freight Train]

"Start with my shoes," Train grumbled as the on-field situation worsened for the Reds. She got up and walked to the rail, all the better to do what she wanted without blowing through the barrier and falling to the death of the people beneath her. "REDS! HIT THE DAMN BALL OR I WILL HIT YOUR BALLS!" She continued to scream mixed cheers and curses as she leaned far out on the rail, braced with both hands to keep herself from falling. She felt a fool, like a baby acting out, but losing Taya's interest to Treadstone's executive cleavage hurt her and she couldn't think of anything else to do. This was clearly important to the cat-mutant, and she didn't want to obstruct it, either. So she vented on the Reds and let Taya have her moment.

[Taya Robbins]

Top of the 6th inning
CIN: 1
LAD: 2

"I wouldn't say none of it is," Taya said. "I mean, Train and I both went to school at Cullen's Institute in New York, and they do a lot of that kind of work with their students. It was a big help for both of us. But I'm really interested in finding out more about what you have in mind."

CRACK! Taya's ears dipped as Willy Taveras slapped a line drive into right field and took first base for the Reds. That and Train's ear-splitting whoop brought her back to the present, where she was entertaining her best friend and Miss Ericsson was trying to enjoy her favorite baseball team in peace. Angela would probably kill her for it, but she knew it was time to back off.

"So, um, I don't want to take you away from the game, but I'm planning on making an appointment to visit Treadstone and hopefully talk to some of your researchers. Do you think you might be available to give an interview, too? It'd be a chance to talk directly to the mutant community."

She tried not to look too eager, but her tail was beating a tattoo on the underside of her seat.

[Dahlia Ericsson]

"I would be-" Dahlia began, but stopped as the door behind them opened and a voice issued forth.

"Miss Ericsson?"

"I'll be right with you, Mister Kettrick." Glancing back over her shoulder, she smiled brightly until the door closed once more. Muttering faintly under her breath, she took a moment and retrieved her bag from beneath her seat. Her scorecard and pencil were tucked inside, along with her hat.

Out came a crisp blue linen business card, which she handed over to Taya. "I'd love to talk to you, Taya. Call my assistant Katrina, and she'll set it up for you. You two enjoy the game and don't hesitate to ask Audrey if you'd like anything."

Standing up, she smiled and shook Taya's hand, then nodded to Train, before she put her business face back on and went inside.

[Freight Train]

Train made her return at the exact moment Dahlia walked away. The seat creaked and kicked back a bit as she unthreaded the bolts attaching her chair to the stadium floor.

"Gaw, finally," she scoffed. "I know you have a career-making business card now, but I'm glad she's gone. I don't handle big serous bidness types well."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya offered her friend a sheepish grin. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's just part of the job, you know? When news breaks, someone has to fix it. What - oh no oh jeez come onnnn!"

The home crowd groaned along with Taya as Chad Billingsley's pitch skipped past the catcher and clattered into the backboard. The pitcher hustled to cover home plate as Russell Martin went diving after the ball, but the damage was done - Willy Taveras loped easily from third base to home to tie up the score on the wild pitch.

Top of the 6th inning
CIN: 2
LAD: 2

[Freight Train]

"HAH!" Train exulted, clapping her hands once and pumping her fist. "Here comes the steamroller! Go Reds!"

Bottom of the 6th inning
CIN: 2
LAD: 6

"No no no no no no no no!" Train shrieked, leaping up out of her seat as Manny Ramirez drove the ball deep into the stands. She ran to the railing, knees colliding with it hard enough to crack the bricks, grabbing her hair in fistfuls as the loaded bases cleared out and Ramirez did his lap around the diamond. Her hands dropped to her sides and her body sagged in disbelief. "This is not the right steamroller!" she protested as she went and flopped moodily back into her chair. "Eternal hatred for you, Manny Ramirez!"

Two and a half innings later, the girls loaded back up into Taya's car with Chelsea still sulking about the loss. "Oh, my God! I just...Mrrrm! Food. Food is now." She sighed and stared at the ceiling, fingers laced behind her head. "That was frustrating," she said with a sigh.

[Taya Robbins]

"Hey, now, your boys put up a good fight," Taya said as the Celica purred to life. "That Arroyo guy was pitching really well. You know, up until he loaded the bases."

Darn it, why was she being all gracious about it? If the Reds had won, Train would be all over her, but her friend looked crestfallen enough that Taya just couldn't bring herself to gloat. Oh well. She'd make it up in the morning by taking Chelsea to Denny's for a grand slam breakfast.

Traffic out of the parking lot was a grind, even by Angelino standards. Taya switched on the radio and resigned herself to staring at the back end of a pick-up truck in desperate need of a car wash.

"So, you're seriously still hungry? Didn't you eat, like, two sandwiches and three hotdogs?"

[Freight Train]

"Yeah," she answered, "But that was like...the third inning." Taya was being very sportsmanlike about the game. Train wouldn't have been, and it was making her feel a little bad. "If you're not hungry, we can go do something else til you are. And, um, thanks for not rubbing it in."

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, I'm never too full for sushi," Taya said with a toothy grin. "Just promise me you're not going to chicken out when the moment of truth arrives."

She gave her friend a wink. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make you eat anything raw."

A blustery-sounding news jingle trumpeted from the radio, followed by the voice of a local news anchor:

"Keeping you up-to-date with news on the eights, this is Action News Nine. With mutant registration in California a month and a half away, Capitol Hill debates federal registration."

Another voice took over, booming from a reverberant Senate chamber: "We cannot address our nation's next-generation needs with last-generation laws."

"The Senate Security Council and the Senate Committee on Health Care Reform have each introduced their own version of the registration bill. Mutant rights organizations are already protesting the legislation."

A woman's voice shouting over a chanting crowd - to Taya's ears, it was all too familiar: "What they're talking about is singling out a people group for discrimination. It's not right for California, and it's not right for America, and we will fight registration in whatever way we can."

Taya shuddered and shut the radio off. "Ugh. Sorry, that sort of brought things down again."

[Freight Train]

Freight Train's mood hadn't lifted at all. Sushi?

"Um...isn't the whole point of sushi that it's raw?" she asked, staring at the radio like it was filmed in snot. "And what was that about on the radio just now? Nationwide legislation? I know I was all gung-ho, be a 4 and proud of it on the forum, but if I really earn that they'll probably have cops and soldiers and stuff posted outside my door 24/7. My folks don't need that in their lives. I like what that last lady was saying. It makes sense."

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, they've been throwing mutant bills around in Congress for years," Taya said. "It's just that now that registration's passed in California, they feel like they've got a legal precedent. Which is ridiculous, because it's not even remotely constitutional. I mean, it's got to go down in the Supreme Court, right?"

She drummed her fingers fitfully on the steering wheel. "The numbers don't even really make a difference. I may only be a one, but every police station and prison in California has a list with my name on it, just in case I use my awesome catlike reflexes for evil."

[Freight Train]

"Heh, you can twirl your whiskers like a moustache. I'll get some Fanta Strawberry to swirl in a glass like wine and we can be evil together. BWAHAHA!" she laughed, throwing her head back and crossing her legs at the knee. "Bring me sushi and a cookie!" she declared, trying to affect a voice like Jabba the Hutt. Anything to take Taya's mind off this heavy Mutant news stuff.

[Taya Robbins]

Taya glanced sidelong at Train in wonderment and couldn't suppress a burst of laughter at her Star Wars impression. It may have been a painfully transparent bid to change the subject, but what mattered was it had worked. She was like some sort of juggernaut of positive thinking. Bad moods just couldn't repel firepower of that magnitude.

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Taya replied with an ear-to-ear grin. "With your muscle and my good looks, we could own this town. But first things first..."

Finally they pulled out of the laboriously slow parking corridor into a line of traffic that actually appeared to be outpacing tectonic drift. "Sushi doesn't mean raw fish. Sushi is Japanese for 'seafood and rice rolled up into a bundle of mind-blowing culinary ecstasy.' Most of the rolls are cooked. Some of them are even deep-fried. I mean, I like some of the raw stuff, but I won't force it on you."

[Freight Train]

"Really? Like, what have they got besides that one pink one? Do I have to eat eels and seaweed and drink green tea and stuff? 'cause I don't even know. I just said sushi because it starts with the same letter as Solo." Her face was an expression of apprehension. "Aren't there ones that poison you if they make it wrong? I haven't got cat constitution like you."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya laughed again, harder this time. "I'm pretty sure they don't serve fugu here. Okay, how does this sound: tempura fried shrimp with avocado, or crab meat with cream cheese and remoulade, or maybe some smoked salmon with mayo and hot peppers. And everything's in little bite-sized pieces wrapped up with cooked rice so you can just snatch it in your chopsticks and dunk it in soy sauce to your heart's content. And they do have green tea, which is great, but they also have Coke products. Sound any better?"

[Freight Train]

Tempura what? Avacadowhat? RemouWHAT? Nope, not sounding better, but God she'd missed Taya and didn't want to hurt the Kit-Kat's feelings by begging for In-N-Out.

"Yeah. I think I could do some crabstuff. Do they give you wasabi and stuff with it? And what's with the cream cheese and mayonnaise? Is that stuff even Japanese?"