14269/Young, Just Us! Interlude: Chowderheads

Young, Just Us! Interlude: Chowderheads
Date of Scene:	04 March 2023
Location:	Pier 39, San Francisco, California
Synopsis:	The Outsiders hit up Pier 39 for food and shopping! Gabby vows to hug a sea lion! Tim rents a boat! The staff at Boudin's wonders how these sassy children can eat so much bread! Sourdough animals are ordered and filled with soup before being summarily devoured off-screen.
Cast of Characters:	Carin Taylor, Tim Drake, Phoebe Beacon, Gabby Kinney, Bart Allen, Laura Kinney, Cassandra Cain

---

Carin Taylor has posed:
    What's a trip to San Francisco without hitting some of the major sights? And what's some of those major sights without a great meal at an iconic location? Despite never having set foot in California until now, Carin volunteered to lead the charge and the tour to the famous Pier 39. The rainstorm on the day of landing had completely cleared out and the day is bright and warm! The fog's cleared and after breakfast, the Outsiders get ferried to the Pier via Tim's chartered limo.

    Carin herself is ready for this, she's brought a messenger bag for storing swag and has acquired some tour books from a little tour shop near the condo tower. Her attire? Stuff for a swim later, and something to enjoy the sun despite her paleness! Jean short cutoffs, a front-tied sky blue shirt, and that green bikini top underneath it. When in Rome, right? She at least looks like she belongs in California, and has the sunglasses to match.

    "Is it too early for lunch?" she asks, unsure as she unfolds a colorful map, the day's crowd of tourists and workers already wandering the streets and sidewalks, making it seem incredibly lively.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Fresh from a good night's sleep -- one of the best parts about going on vacation, in his opinion -- Tim had appeared from his room bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, offered whatever help he could in Carin's planning, and then had made sure the limo would be available for when they were all ready to head out.

    Then, predictably, he'd gone on a search for coffee.

    That was then, and this is now, yet Tim is still nursing his precious caffeine even though it's much closer to lunchtime. Protip: if you order yourself both a hot beverage and a cold one, you can drink the hot one right away and save the cold one for later. Ice rattles around in his cup as he sips from it, eyes scanning the crowd from behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses. He's dressed a little more warmly than Carin, in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, but as soon as he steps out of the limo and into the bright sun he starts stripping out of his jacket, electing to tie it around his waist instead, leaving him in a thin t-shirt. "I could eat," he says, after. And he really should. Coffee is not a suitable breakfast!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "'Breakfast' and 'Lunch' only depend on what time you get up in the morning." answers Phoebe, who is decidedly not as skin-baring as Carin. She's wearing a compression sleeve on her left arm in orange, a black T-shirt with 'MAGICAL AF' on it, sporting a unicorn with Yellow, Pink and Blue hair, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, along with 'boyfriend' jeans with stars on the knees and a pair of decent boots for walking. She's got a backpack on that opens from the part against her back for MAXIMUM SECURITY, and has the map app pulled up on her phone.

    "They have one of those sling-shot harnesses. I vote we put Gabby in it." Phoebe gives a wry comment, with a look over to Tim, cracking a small smile.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Oh, there are sea lions on the pier floaty things! And whale tours! PHOEBE THERE'S WHALE TOURS!"

It wasn't that Gabby needed to yell but she'd already dashed ahead of the group to scope things out with her usual 'take a quick look around and report back about all the awesome stuff' mentality. While she wasn't a speedster she was hyperactive enough that she was moving around a lot.

Decked out in skin tight biker shorts, boat shoes (she was told they were a thing here?) and a tanktop that was purchased earlier at a touristy place declaring she was here for sun and fun, she really didn't seem to stand out much around the tourists over all. There's a bag slung cross-body style that bounces off her hip as she moves causing the light to reflect off the glittery rainbow surface.

She's back just in time to hear about a slingshot harness to which she gushes, "YISSS let's do it! And food is good I could food. I can always food."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen was back home doing things. He had to work the previous night, but when your one with the speed force a ten minute power nap has a whole new meaning. So, after a quick run across country stopping at a few places along the way Bart can be seen walking in from between two buildings where he took time to change at. He tosses a cardboard container into a recycling ben. He is wearing his name jeans, high tops and a t-shirt with pac-man on it.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Having spent most of the first night out. Doing what no-one quite knows. But presumably some sort of nightclub was involved and there were no reported explosions or riots. So perhaps it was even recreation and not a major incident.

Whatever she's been upto she's decided to wear some heavy duty sunglasses. The kind usually worn to hide a hangover she's pretty much incapable of having. Alongside another dress and matching bag combo. Clearly putting in the effort to look nice for the trip (and the bag provides ample storage for tactical gear and weapons). "Food would be good," she agrees. "I'm pretty much always hungry. Mutant metabolism."

Carin Taylor has posed:
    Everyone's here? Everyone's here! Carin even spots Bart practically coming out of the woodwork! "Bart! You made it!" she calls out cheerfully. She's... been so much better at bonding the last few weeks. If one had caught her before she ran into the Outsiders, the prospect of taking a plane across the country would've sent her hiding for a week. Now she's... so much more vibrant. Like she should be. And deserves to be.

    "I mean we have all day... I think the whale tours need to be booked earlier in the morning though?" she ponders. "Hey, Tim? We'll be here for a few days before the camping, right...? Maybe we can do a boat day, too?" she asks, looking back down at her map as she sees just how wildly energetic Gabby is. "Slingshot? Lunch? Shops? Do we want to split the party after eating and meet back here for dinner too?"

    She seems to have her eye on a few of the stores, less so than some of the other attractions. "I know the Alcatraz gift shops are here... and there's the fudge shop... and..." she eyes Laura with a smirk, "...I know there's a place that sells knives and swords... Oh.. a magic shop.. or.. two?" she peeks at her map again.

    "Fling Gabby, grab lunch, cut loose?" she asks.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Whale tours? Tim's already got his phone out, thumb tapping at the screen as he takes a noisy slurp of coffee. "We could probably swing a half-day out on a boat," he says, and his chin tips downwards. He's staring at his phone, intently, the same kind of focus that he usually directs to mission planning now used for... well, it's still mission planning, but his mission is "make this the best vacation ever."

    He looks up, smiling back at Phoebe and holding back laughter at the thought of Gabby being flung into the air on one of those rides. He only shrugs, attention split, though he does add, "There's a puzzle shop around here somewhere," with a quiet note of interest to his voice. Is he shopping for himself or someone else, is the question.

    Then he holds up a hand and steps away from the group, phone to his ear. "Hello, last minute I know but I'm looking to rent a boat..."

    He'll be back shortly. Bart gets a wave of Tim's coffee, because he has no free hands otherwise.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I was... kinda hoping for a whale tour the next time I was out here. Other than the grays there might be some transient orca or other smaller dolphins about, but starting about now most baleen whales are probably heading towards Arctic and Antarctic feeding grounds with their calves and --" Phoebe stammers a moment, "... I dunno if I could handle being on a boat and not seeing the bottom of the water without my other stuff." she admits with a shrug of her shoulders, and then she looks up with a grin. "Hey, Bart!" she offers a fist-dap. "How's the zoo life?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney gives a little wave of her hand at mention of flinging her in a slingshot first. "If people are hungry we can do that first. It's not like I'm gonna get motion sick or something," she scoffs with a laugh at the very thought. It then occurs to her as she blinks at Carin. "Oh wait do you know my powers? I'm the same as Laura," she explains gesturing to the older clone who looked identical to her save for the facial scars she bore, and the obvious personality differences.

"So yeah no worry of me puking due to being launched after food." Bart is greeted with a wave, but her attention has already shifted over to Pheobe curiously. "Why do you know so much about the migration patterns of whales?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over and says "They are doing pretty good, and I plan on making sure I hit the zoos around here later today." He admits, and around here may have a much larger radius than others would. He waves to the others as well, and says "Well pretty sure if something happened on a boat, we could get folks to sure pretty quickly." He says with a smirk, and says "I am just letting others set the time table today." He does consider taking Tim's phone, as sometimes he wonders if his friend needs the whole slow down and enjoy around you lessons as bad as he does.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"It feels wrong to even think about buying a sword from a shop," Laura muses with a shrug. "It's not really a sword unless you head into the mountains and have a master craftsman come out of retirement to create one final blade for your revenge mission." It's hard to be sure if she's making a joke about samurai movies, a reference to Kill Bill, a Howlett family holiday or if she really does just get swords that way.

She makes a series of hand gestures at Tim while he's booking his whale boat that seems to suggest she thinks it'd be better to hire a helicopter and some scuba gear for some more up close whale watching. She's likely to be disappointed though because her suggestion involves swimming back after the helicopter drops them at sea. And no-one wants to have that sort of trip back. Except maybe Bart who can run on water.

She sniffs the air and turns her head in the direction of the food.

"We can always decide on plans while we eat?"

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Huh? Oh, yeah," Carin nods to Tim, catching the mention of the puzzle shop. "That's.. um.." she looks at her map. "..Solve It, I think.." she considers, tilting her head. "...I think he's ordering us a boat for a whale tour, Phoebe..." she blinks, bewildered. "Which still leaves... lots of food and shopping time, unless he's renting it for tomorrow..." Despite being more comfortable with the group, she still finds herself bewildered by the actions of Tim about as much as she does for Laura. But, all of them are quirky friend-shaped people to her by now!

    "If.. if you're not worried about getting sick.." the redhead peeks at Gabby from the edge of her sunglasses, then glances to Bart. "There's a huge aquarium here and sea lions. I know there was some excitement for those..." That's one thing she's got down: Managing the stimulus of a half-dozen people around her. Her mind shifts here and there as needed, taking in words and gestures. Super-speed and a brain-wired tactical computer isn't just for combat, after all!

    "Food first, then?" she folds up her map and gestures to one of the larger buildings, and likely the closest one: Boudin's Cafe. "And... I think the blade shop here is half for show anyway."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim makes a series of faces at Laura, starting with brow-furrowed confusion, then eyes-widening realization, then hurried, nervous head-shaking, all while he's still navigating the conversation on the phone. From a distance, people might be able to pick up words like "advance fee" and "discretion of the crew" among others. Maybe also "scuba gear" if that's any indication of Laura getting her way even partially.

    And then he's back, phone slipped into his pocket. "Scored us a boat for the morning before we head out to Yosemite National Park. We can relax for a while out on the ocean before we go on a big hike and camp out for the night. Well, for anyone who wants to join."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Food. Food sounds *great*. Where's the veggie place? Is it near the Bad Sword Place? I feel like I need to purchase the cheapest, most terrible sword and send it home to the little brother, Tim. Specifically to see which eye tweaks out more about getting a subpar toy sword with no tang." Phoebe speaks up, pushing her hat back a bit and straightening up, since of course they're going to be *out on a boat* and it will be scary.

    Pack the ginger ale and dramamine!

    Phoebe glances at her phone, and then begins to head towards the shops and restaurants.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
And, there's Cassandra. She's wearing a tank top and shorts, her feet up sitting with a group of workout kids, and has a drink with a long straw in her lap. One might be forgiven to not put two and two together and get 'that's actually her' since it's so out of place. But it actually is.

She has a fruit cup too, which seems somehow to surprise her. Not entirely sure where that came from. But she looks at you all, just being herself. She's a bit sweaty, maybe she just finished her workout with the other workout types?

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney lifts her head a single time to sniff at the iar. It doesn't take more than a second to recognise a few scents as well as determine where the food was. That didn't take special senses. "Oh hey Cass," she greets with a wave, and grins toward the others. "Yes, food. I heard soup was a thing here? I mean I'm up for whatever."

Tim's mention of the boat earns a grin and nod, and she adds, "Also gonna hug a sea lion."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over, and says "If your going to try that with a wild one you want to be careful Gabby, It might take it as an attack and bite you, and your not sure what any of your make up or bug spray and such might do to them if they ate it. " He knows the girl will heal, but reminds her the sea lion might not. "We might be able to find some places where there are some that have got accustomed to humans that might be ok with it though."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I took the precaution of bringing my own hot sauce," Laura notes casually, as if she wasn't talking about a weapons grade condiment. "So if the food is boring I can pep things up a little. As for the Sea Lions I'm more worried about Gabby bringing one home as a pet than I am her getting bitten. She's used to pet sitting big cats. So everyone keep an eye out to make sure she doesn't try smuggle one back to the hotel..."

She doesn't seem especially bothered about what cuisine they're going for. So long as the portion sizes are suited for her mutant metabolism. But even that's not that big of a worry when they're travelling with the boss man himself. As Tim's credit card should be plenty capable to feeding them all.

Well maybe not Bart. But then it's unlikely the entire area has enough food to do that....

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "That fast?" Carin blinks in bewilderment at Tim. "...I thought Bart and I were quick but..." she laughs quietly, shaking her head. She starts to liesurely make her way towards the restaurant, though, breathing in deep. The scents of sea surround, of course, but the smell of fresh bread is stronger and stronger here! "I'm down for that, I haven't been on a boat... in... a long time. But that gives us lots of time to shop and fling and see some of the other fun places here on the pier.. then dinner and back 'home' for the night and... night.. stuff?" she considers. Not that she's exactly a night owl like most of the others.

    "I don't think there's any concrete plans aside from getting back before dark? Though... do you think they'd kick us out of the escape room place? Between speed and brains in this group..." she considers, then laughs. "I do want to hit all of the chocolate shops though..." she says, a little quieter. Is Carin trying to hide her sweet tooth? "Oh... oh no.. what should I get Toni..?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Even someone as unflappable as Tim can't resist the smell of bread that has started to become all-encompassing as they move further along. He's finished off his coffee in the meantime, and spotting Cass on his trip to the nearest public trash can only gives him a second or two of pause before he waves over to her in greeting.

    "There's vegetarian soup options," he tells Phoebe, because of course Tim has done his homework. Maybe too much homework for what should be a vacation for him as well, but... wellllll... it is what it is. He rejoins the group amidst Laura's warning regarding Gabby and the sea lions. "We're running out of room back home for more pets," he admits with a rueful smile. Admittedly, they're running out of room for more people, too, with the amount of members they have now. But he doesn't say that. Instead he shrugs at Carin and says, "You can't go wrong with chocolate as a gift, especially the high-quality stuff they sell here. Unless... does she like puzzles?"

    Okay, question answered. He's definitely bringing a bunch of hand-crafted puzzles home for the entire Bat-clan.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No, Gabby, do *not* hug the wild animals. Sea Lions are dangerous." Phoebe pauses "... also I had a deep wiki dive after re-watching Lilo and Stitch, reading about the Humpback Nurseries in Hawaii and the Gray Whale nurseries in Baja, and how Orca pods display aspects of culture by transferring their unique hunting skills generationally, like there's this crevas that if the gray whales make noise over, it echoes super loudly and the orcas hear it and then hunt them down." Phoebe explains to Gabby in a late response to the question about how she knew about migration patterns, and she considers.

    "You really can't go wrong with candy, or books. Or those penny-squishing machines."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Gabby spotting her has Cass upnod in the girl's direction. She continues watching them pass, sipping whatever pink drink she's got in her lap, and folds her hands behind her head. She seems as communicative as ever, with her dark eyes judging from one side. You're on a -vacation-? How dare, she seems to be saying. However she doesn't get up, whatever she's got going being important. Is she scouting out a group of troubled teens? Or just checking on the flavour profile of the strawberry lemonaid?

Seriously there's a lot of graft in the lemonaid market. It's almost possible. But she gives Tim and Phoebe another upnod in passing, and then raises an eyebrow at Bart.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney spreads her hands in a helpless shrug. "I wasn't planning to KEEP one, come on! I know I'm impulsive at times but I *have* matured a lot." A little indignant pout comes as she clarifies, "I don't have the right resources or environment to keep a sea lion. Give me some credit. And I know they're wild animals that's why I'm not wearing any sunscreen--I don't need any." Huff. People. She would just have to steal away at some point and ...

"Oh, right, I need to get gifts for Bunny and Tommy too. There a hat store somewhere around here? He likes hats." She's already glancing down at the array of shops considering thoughtfully.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over and says "Hey now, I am the impulse one no stealing my thunder." He jokes a bit towards Gabby, but adds in "Seriously though no telling on the level some of them around here may have in contact with humans, but if your really wanting to, I might be able to see if I can get you a plus one spot when I get to go check out metropolis aquarium later this year. and if that don't pan out.. Me and Aquaman are like that." He holds his fingers out crossing his fingers. Aquaman did help him frustrate Gar during the whole Animal Alphabet.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Puzzles..?" Carin asks, looking puzzled herself. "..she likes to tinker with things... maybe..." she muses. "Oh! Since... we're not flying commercial... I can bring back a little extra luggage, right?" she looks at Tim, expression... the faintest bit pleading. "...maybe a puzzle and... some cute socks... she's always wearing socks around the apartment, colorful fun ones..." she made note of a literal sock store on the list. "..and chocolate, definitely. Candy never goes wrong!" she seems happy, amused. She even waves cheerfully over at Cassandra when people call her out and break her cover!

    "So we'll chow and grab gifts and... today is going to be awesome..." she exhales a long sigh, body just sort of relaxing. "...seriously.. I.. I was so nervous.. I didn't want to be running from cybernetic goons on vacation.." she rubs the side of her head, doing her best to try and ignore the entire talk about stealing sea lions. Or hugging them. Or. Being eaten by them.

    Within the cafe, the scent of bread and other delightful things is extra strong, and wouldn't you know it, a table was reserved in a slightly more private area with a nice big window overlooking the pier.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "I had a collection of flattened pennies when I was a kid," Tim says, briefly distracted by Phoebe's mention of them. He goes quiet, lost in thought, but as people continue to discuss gift plans -- and then Carin asks him a question directly -- he snaps himself out of it. To say, "An extra piece of luggage or two is fine, don't worry about it."

    Assurances given, Tim lapses into silence again, hands in his pockets. But the smell of bread is so strong now, and also just... so good, that Tim can't help but to lift his chin and take in a deep lungful once they've entered the cafe. "I'm going to eat an entire loaf of bread," he says, like he's swearing an oath. Which he is, just... to the glory of carbs and baked goods.

    When he spots the reserved table, he gives Carin a nod of respect for her planning abilities. Especially given the view the table comes with, but that's not what Tim's looking at. He's looking at the wall of bread. "I'm going to eat that entire bread turtle," is what he's changed his solemn promise to, because yes... there's a turtle made out of bread. It's $26.95 and even if he weren't rich, Tim would be willing to pay that much for a turtle made out of bread.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I did too. My favorite was from the aquarium. It had penguins on it. And then... uh... Cobblepot bought it for the Lounge." she mutters crossly. "Nine-year-old me might never forgive him." she adds, and then she looks up. "Hey Cass--" she states, and then straightens up. "CASS." she points at Cassandra Cain. "C'mon. I'm getting soup." she states, and she turns and looks at the menu, and seeing the turtle made of bread, she raises her eyebrows.

    "Tim. Pretty sure we can walk those carbs off. Today and tomorrow. We got a lotta walking to do." she states in affirmation, and she shoulder-bumps him.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Crab bread, too!" Gabby blurts ou with a grin tossed toward Bart. "Everything becomes crabs! Even the carbs." That was tempting. But so was turtle bread. And... "What is 'soda bread'?" She asks squinting at the menu while trying to figure out how soda and bread work together.

"This place is AWESOME Carin," she agrees only to step over and, if allowed, give her teammate a quick side hug. "I get you though. It's great getting to just, *live* without worrying about someone trying to shank you, right?" She did get it, she really did.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Boy it's a good thing that Cass isn't undercover. All these callouts would totally ruin that kind of thing. But since that's not what is happening (is it?) she's in the clear. She does seem curious as alla you are heading into a bread shoppe, or a cafe, or some kind of place with stuff inside of it.

To be fair she's not entirely certain how normal people do normal.

She raises a hand really high and waves, but doesn't seem to be coming in to eat all of the carbohydragons with everyone else. Wait, do they have bread dragons?

VBefore she can find out, it's her turn on the workout ladder again. And Cass hops to her feet, grabbing weights, and begins to do whatever insane exercise the teams' devised for her. No wonder she's fit, that looks painful.

I wonder what it is.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will look at the menu, and says "I think I want to see if they can fill it with the clam chowder, and then maybe an order crab on the side." He hmms and says "And some of the jalapeno cheddar rolls." He has made a habit of making folks think he is one of the competitive eaters. Which maybe he should be but he would have to always make sure he came in like third or forth, and not trying your best, well that sucks.

Carin Taylor has posed:
    "Oh.. wow.. are you all sure you can finish those? Those are huge!" Carin exclaims, eyes going wide when she hears the orders of... bread turtles, and bread crabs, and bread gator. Turtles and gators and crabs, oh my! Also bears. Then she's being hugged! She doesn't mind, the pale speedster wraps both arms around Gabby for a moment and squeezes tight. It's okay, she's not very strong, and Gabby's pretty much indestructible!

    "A-awh.... you're welcome! All of you! I just. There's a gal I work with who came from around here and said we had to hit this place, and when I looked at the website... I saw all this amazing food! And Pier 39 is world famous! I think..." she scratches her cheek. "..and.. yeah. I'm still kinda on edge with so many people around, but... I feel safe with you. Going out with friends is still... kind of new to me?"

    She shakes her head, though, getting comfortable. "I think I'll just go with the chowder and a salad... do we want to do fish and chips for dinner? There's lots of places on the Pier to eat, still, too... and... I'm really looking forward to camping..." she feels her mind going a mile a minute with so many good things.

    "...hey. Um. Thanks. All of you. I'm really happy to be able to be here. This... really means a lot to me. I feel like I fit in?"

    Orders are taken quickly, and easily, and the food really doesn't take long to come out!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That's because you are safe with us. We've got your back." Phoebe states, and in what is a big deal for Phoebe, she shoulder-bumps Carin (if permitted), and then points at one of the baugettes "Can you slice that into a long bowl and fill with the butternut squash soup? That would be *awesome*." she states with a smile "And a lemonade, please." she gives a grin, and she looks to Carin again.

    "And trust me. We'll finish it. Gotta make sure Gabby's properly seasoned before she goes to hug a sea lion."