Chapter 122 - Speed Eating

Miss Calculated takes a moment to compose herself, and for coming to terms with the fact she severely overestimated Lucas's inebriated thought process. After clearing her throat, she finally turns to face Lucas, as opposed to continuing to stare down the hallway 23 went through.

"Well, I'd be willing to take a look at it for any possible optimizations for you as well, ah, if you want. I've spent so much time maintaining basic budget models, it could be interesting to work on a high-end specialized custom one for once." Miss Calculated certainly tries to phase her offer as being altruistic as best she can, but the note of excitement in her voice belies her enthusiasm to give 23 an intimately thorough inspection.

Even with his current mental handicaps, Lucas can fairly clearly tell she doesn't have any malicious intentions.

'Eheh, nerd.'

"Yeah sure, thanks. Uhh, I guess when you're lookin' it over, if there's any parts ya think would help it out just text 'em at me, and what they're for? We can worry later about what's worth the money, dependin' on what it'll do." When Lucas accepts her optimization offer, Miss Calculated's face lights up.

"Of course, of course. Ah, I'll document just about every improvement possible, to warn you in advance, I'll hardly expect you to want to go with every single one I suggest." While Miss Calculated beams at Lucas with enthusiasm, Miss Masher sighs softly and pulls the bag between them towards herself.

"Man, ya weren't kiddin' when ya said we wouldn't eat as much as Jackknife. I guess yer body's still in overdrive while tryin' to recover after that fit of power fatigue?" As Miss Masher says this, she starts rummaging around inside the chilled bag, pulling out an empty container to store her leftovers in.

Jonathan has a shy smile as he chews the very last piece of his steak, chuckling awkwardly.

Miss Calculated gains a new look of thoughtfulness, briefly looks up at Jonathan, and then turns to look at Miss Masher.

"Well, even disregarding the fact that he's a pubescent boy, an active speed supe burns through even more calories than a strength one. You know full well what kind of caloric intake you need when you're doing high-intensity training. He could burn through what would be a day's worth for you in just a few hours, if he was constantly pushing the edge of fatigue. Although, it would take a significant amount of training on his part to be able to sustain his power usage that much in a single day, which people rarely bother doing. Even though his metabolism would keep up, too much usage and he'd start aging faster, and it is generally agreed that it isn't worth it." While Miss Calculated clarifies this, Miss Masher's expression sinks.

"Yeesh, all that time ya save by bein' fast is just wasted on eatin' more, eh? Man, you musta had days where you were just runnin' from one soup kitchen to the next just to feel full… That's gotta suck." As Miss Masher commiserates with a sympathetic tone, Jonathan keeps his eyes downcast while nodding a few times.

"Ye-yeah… Whenever I had to r-run around a lot, I'd, um, I'd spend the next two or three days, um, like that… I felt so hungry so often I just got used to it… It's… It's nice to finally eat a lot, now that I, um, can…" As Jonathan finishes saying this, Lucas slowly sets down his fork, just finishing the last bite of his own meal.

"..Have I been feedin' you enough? Man, we're gonna need a hell of a lot of snacks, huh? Ya want anythin' more kiddo? There's no hurry, if you want anything else, just say so." While Lucas muses out loud, Jonathan nods vigorously several times.

"No! No, I mean, um, yes. You've been, um, v-very, um, good to me…" When Jonathan answers, he hunches forward a bit, his voice becoming increasingly softer to the point he's so quiet that even Lucas can barely hear him, despite sitting right next to him.

Lucas is quite amused by his shy behavior, barely resisting the urge to rub the top of his head after remembering he just ate lobster with his bare hands not all that long ago.

"What about dessert then? They got brownie sundaes here, yeah? Wanna split one? I haven't had ice cream in ages... Man, I need to replace the damn freezer in the apartment." While Lucas looks for an excuse to order dessert, even though he definitely doesn't have enough room left for more than a few bites, Jonathan's head energetically darts back up.

Jonathan's clear anticipation writ upon his face is all the answer Lucas needs, he probably felt too guilty to ask for dessert after basically having a liquid dessert alongside his meal. The fact he cheerily says "Sure!" just further demonstrates how much he actually wanted it.

There's a soft gasp just at the edge of Lucas's hearing. After a few short seconds pass, Miss Chievous's voice sounds out just behind him.

"I'll take a salted caramel topped slice of cheesecake to go!" Apart from the fact she remained invisible while making her request, Miss Chievous is far less hesitant in making her dessert desires known.

Miss Calculated smiles and shakes her head from side to side, chuckling softly the whole time.

Miss Masher snorts and holds one of her hands up in a stop gesture to indicate she doesn't want anything.

Noticing the telltale mechanical sounds and the glint of metal from his peripheral vision, Lucas looks up to 23 enthusiastically, ready to make his request. He had already completely forgotten that he asked to speak with its manager.

Following behind 23 is a woman that looks to be slightly older than Lucas, dressed in a collared black button-up shirt with similarly black slacks, and the tail of her neatly tied shoulder-blade-length blonde hair resting on her left shoulder. She is clearly in full-on customer service mode, and her clear blue eyes are actively competing with her smile in a contest as to which can be brighter.

Once 23 finishes guiding her over to the table, it stops near Lucas and gestures in his direction briefly with one four-pronged hand.

"Here is the esteemed guest which wishes to speak with you, madam. Sir, this is our establishment's current manager on duty, Lorelei. May I be of any further assistance?" Once 23 completes its introductions, it keeps its attention directed towards Lucas, who is temporarily torn between making his request for tasty sweet treats, or being polite to the pretty lady that is smiling at him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, actually. Could you handle the desserts, Jon?" As Lucas tries to accomplish both tasks at once, he pauses to return Lorelei's smile, standing up as he felt awkward sitting while she didn't have a seat available.

"Good afternoon sir, how may I help you?" Noticing Lucas's actions, Lorelei speaks up as he situates himself, now needing to tilt her gaze upwards a bit thanks to him standing half of a foot taller than her.

"Ah, good afternoon, Lorelei, thanks for comin' out. I'm Lucas. Uh, everything's good, I just wanted to ask a few things…" While Lucas starts ramping up, Jonathan briefly shoots him a dirty look for dumping a social task on him without any warning.

"Um, co-could we get a, um, a br-brownie with ex-extra spoons for here and, um, a salted caramel, um, slice of che-cheesecake to go? Tha-thanks…" Apparently, this burden is heavy for Jonathan, even if the target is an agreeable service bot.

"Of course, right away sir. Pardon me, I will go and prepare to bring it out right away." 23 bows slightly to Lucas and then Jonathan in turn, then slides off in the direction of the kitchens.

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Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 12.22 (+.01 +.01 = +.02 net change)

Lucas's fame level: 4.50* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are extremely high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.5* (More than just passing suspicion for some paranoid individuals, people are realizing he's an impulsive idiot)

Jonathan total kills: 6

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 3.97 (+.01 net change)

Jonathan's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2.75* (A few paranoid individuals are suspicious)

Willy's fame level: 1.5* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame primarily as 'Xenoclast's dog', but some strangers know him as William/Willy now)

Supervillain social circle size: 11

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Little character theater:

Jonathan sinks back into his seat, fatigued from the effort of making a verbal request without having a chance to mentally prepare himself first.

Willy shifts his position slightly, making quiet little doggy snores while his right hind leg twitches a few times in his sleep.

Lucas, briefly distracted by Willy's cuteness, but promptly turning his attention back to Lorelei: Yeah so uhh… Weird request buuut...

427, furiously running the last few calculations required as he comes up with an acceptable range of price offers based on his various estimates as to 23's value, age, degree of use, and its potential remaining timespan of optimal functionality. Simultaneously, he's separately holding a value modifier for taking into account modifications that Miss Calculated will presumably do on their behalf: 'Please don't suddenly get straight to the point...'

Author, over in the kitchen, putting an extra scoop of ice cream on top of the big gooey brownie: That one's for Chi, since you know she's going to have some whether you offer it to her or not.

Mr. Quacks, diving headfirst into the vanilla ice cream container as soon as no one is looking: Quack!