Erza calms down and trouble at the dinner table

Once the commercial finished, you addressed Erza, “Erza, it’s just a commercial. That Lucy will be alright and is probably home with her owner or living at the studio.”

“She didn’t look alright,” she glared at the TV that had switched to a commercial about cereal. You nod your head acknowledging that the Lucy didn’t look very happy to be part of the commercial but you needed a way to calm Erza down before she broke something or tried to go on a rescue. Thankfully, Aelita spoke up.

“Participants in commercials are actors for the camera, they likely had her act that way to help sell the product. Like James said, actor characters are usually treated well as most people don’t want to see unhealthy characters connected to a product unless it's medicine or a fight,” She explained. “Don’t take it too seriously; there isn’t much you can do and the Lucy might not even want help.” Erza opened her mouth but was interrupted by a chime sound.

“That was the dinner bell,” you say as you get up and help Aelita up. “If you want, we can see if we can look up how that studio treats its characters later.” Erza nodded her head hesitantly as she stood up to follow you. You lead Aelita, Starfire and Erza to the dining room where a long table was set up with seats for everyone though some tables and chairs were taken from other rooms. The table(s) was being loaded with French, Greek, and Avatar world dishes and a few desserts were sitting on a counter separating dining from the kitchen.

“Thank you, you three,” You say, addressing Katara, Marinette and Diana who were bringing stuff over from the kitchen. You took your seat after pulling Aelita’s chair out. “Everything looks great.”

“This feast is perfect for the Blorthog dinner,” Starfire complimented cheerfully as she started to load up her plate.

“Thank you, I worked hard on the quiches.” Marinette replied as she set some dishes down.

“I am not sure what the Blorthog is but thank you,” Diana replied as she and the others sat down once they finished bringing in the food. Your girls started trickling in as your older characters guided the new additions in. Gaige brought in Gogo and Laura while Ahsoka, who had returned at some point, brought in Shampoo.

“Oh hi Ahsoka, I didn’t hear you get back,” you greeted the pretty Togrutan Jedi. She was wearing a Zygerrian **** outfit with an ownership collar around her neck.

“Sorry Master, I got stopped twice by police and again by security,” She grumbled and took her seat. “There’s an increase of stray and rogue characters apparently; thankfully your permission was still good or else I would be at the police station right now.” She was referring to the encoded permission in her chip that allows her and your other characters to come and go on errands that need to be refreshed every once in a while.

“Hmm, I’ll call my friend at the station to see if I can get them to back off of you. if there's stray characters, my boss might send me out to round some up,” you mention idly as you start digging into a chicken dish. “I might need to take you and Laura with me for that.”

“I won’t help you,” Laura growled out. The table gets quiet as you stare at the dark haired mutant.

“Why not?” You say with danger in your voice.

“I won’t help you re-enslave people who escaped,” She growled and you see most of the newbies nodding slightly.

“I am not talking about rogue characters, I’m talking about stray characters,” you explain slowly. “Stray characters are those abandoned by their owners in less than ideal circumstances and were never picked up by Reintegration Corp or those who have gotten lost at some point.”

“They are effectively homeless, living with little access to food or other supplies and many criminal groups take advantage,” Ahsoka explained, a bit tense and ready to act.

“We pick them up and make sure they wind up where they need to be, reuniting lost ones and taking care of the others at the facility. They tend to be grateful to have a warm bed, medical care and food. I mostly just need you to scent them out and for extra security if something happens,” You explain as you return to your chicken and reach for a french dish you don’t quite recognize but want to try. You don’t look away from Laura and she glares back. This continues for a bit as some of your girls glance at each other nervously.

You see a movement out of the corner of your eye and you see a tendril of water come from a vase and quickly whip the back of Laura’s neck. She flinched and lashed out with her claws cutting through the water. Ahsoka lifted a hand and Laura was floating in the air and struggling against the unseen ****.

“Let go!”

“Will you help if I am sent to pick up strays?” You ask and she growls a bit before barking out.

“Fine but if they don’t want to come, I’m not making them.” You hum but continue eating. Slowly, the characters start eating again as the tension slowly bleeds away. Ahsoka lets Laura down slowly and Katara uses ice to keep her in her seat.

Eventually, everyone has eaten their fill including Laura who started chipping away at the ice with her claws. You nod to Katara, who melts the ice, and Ahsoka who lifts Laura again.

“What now?” Laura complained.

“I think you need a little discipline,” You respond and order…