ArchivedLogs:Kara Zor-El

Kara Zor-El
Dramatis Personae Karolina, Peter
In Absentia	2013-07-16 '
Location <XS> Back Porch
The back patio is a restful place to sit and relax, in most weather. Ample seating comes in the form of umbrella'd deck chairs and a cushioned porch swing, and the neighboring gardens attract butterflies and hummingbirds to make the viewing pleasant. The hot tub is usually open for use, though in snowy weather the transition in and out is a shivery one! Out here, in the middle of the day, it was fairly peaceful. Birds chirping somewhere in the distance, the occasional thrum of hummingbirds flitting to the feeders, only to flit away again. It wasn't too hot, nor too cold, but it was cold enough for Karolina Dean to wear a turtleneck along with her flared jeans, a pair of boots peeking out from under the cuffs. Bracelets of all kinds clicked and clacked around her wrists, sounding to be mostly plastic. And she had a steaming cup of tea, which she was lifting to her lips to sip every so often. Currently, she was lingering by the hot tub, her eyes kinda flickering over the controls. In fact, with her free hand, she was running her fingertips over the controls, and mouthing unspoken words to herself, a little smile on her lips as her eyes track over it. THWP. That is the sound of /thwippy/ things. Mounted on Peter's wrists -- producing a long, silver line upon being fired -- striking a particularly stout tree branch and connecting to it in a delicate spread of webbing -- before. JUMP! Peter descends from the rooftop, swinging down to the ground until his feet hit it running -- bleeding off speed until he's proceeding in a slow, steady skip. And then, walking! Back toward the porch, in the direction of the tub. Peter is clad in unusual attire -- a loose, baggy black T-shirt (with a mono-colored image of the Devil burying fossils -- and the caption -- 'TEACH THE CONTROVERSY') along with baggy sweat-pants. What's unusual about it is their size, considering the weather; that, and the shirt has 'slits' cut along the shoulders, exposing two black metal boxes that are making a very tiny 'hum', apparently containing fans -- they pop up no higher than half an inch off his shoulders, but look a little like small black 'plates'! Peter's holding a tablet in one hand, the cord he just swung down in the other -- releasing the latter to tap-tap-tap away at the tablet. Apparently /checking/ something; he's so deeply involved with it he does not notice Karolina even as he approaches! THWP! Karolina jumps a bit in place at the unusual sound, her eyes lifting up to spy - a flying spider. Normally, that would be cause for concern, but this particular spider seems to draw a smile up at the corners of her lips. Turning towards him, she takes a moment to regard him - he seemed engrossed, regardless - her eyes drawn up to his face, then down along those boxes. A beat, and she starts stepping out to approach him, bringing a hand up to brush a strand of her multicolored hair from her features. "Hey Peter!" she calls out - lifting a hand up to kinda wiggle it in a wave. "Are you messing around with new devices? What's this one?" she asks. /SQUEAK/. Peter jumps! Almost three feet into the air; he springs back like a little bouncing ball at the sound of Karolina's voice, landing on the balls of his feet. Though an instant later, and the shocked look evaporates into a hesitant smile -- it seems obvious that Peter's gotten used to being startled by greetings: "Ohhelloum, /hey/ Karolina I didn't--" Tap, tap, tap. The tablet is quickly flicked off; it's soon shoved into his small nylon back-pack -- strapped via cords around his waist and shoulders. "--ohyeah, uh. It's..." Peter raps at his chest. Perhaps /unusually/, it makes a hard sound -- like he just knocked against plastic. "--kind of. A cooling suit. I've been working on it at work and -- um. I don't -- sweat." Violet creeeeeps up his face. "Well I mean any /number/ of us. Don't." "Ohmygosh, sorry," says Karolina, coming to an immeadiate stop instead of advancing further, holding her hands up as if she were going to surrender. There was a beat, though, as Peter seems to compose herself, a slow smile replacing the look of surprise that had once touched her features. Slowly, her hands lower too, and she tucks her fingertips into the pockets of her jeans. With the explanation, her eyes glance to the boxes again, nodding her head as if the rainbow woman was seeing it in a new light. "That sounds, um..." she pauses a moment. "...useful," she says carefully. An awkward pause from her, and there was the smile again. "But I don't quite understand, I mean - you stay cool, sure, but any number of us? Like there's someone with a mutant power not to sweat? I want that power," she says with a wry sort of grin, advancing again - to stop within a comfortable distance from the maybe-geek. "So, what made you think to make this thing? It's a little bit like the start of like a superhero suit, right?" "Ohit'sfine," Peter quickly responds, /waving/ both of his hands at Karolina when she apologizes. "--like I pretty much. /Always/ jump when people say hi it's like. /Kind/ of my tertiary mutation or something." The waving, semi-flailing hands descend when Karolina tucks her hands into her pockets; Peter starts to /grin/ a moment after that. He's swaying, just a bit, thumbs tucked into the hemline of his sweatpants: "Yeah, I know a few mutants who don't -- the sharktwins? Have you met them yet? They're -- blue. Lots of sharp teeth." This comes with a demonstration; Peter's hands rise up to curl into daggers around his mouth and make CHOMPING motions. "They don't sweat either. Also there's another kid I know? Kind of -- lizardy? He's going to be coming here next semester, and I think he's got serious problems with thermoregulation too." Peter does not back away as Karolina approaches! He /does/ drop his hands and hook his thumbs back into their previous position, though: "--oh uh, superhero--huh? No, I mean, that would be--" His face proceeds to dive /DEEP/ into violet, eyes suddenly slinging this way and that, as if looking for an emergency exit. "--I mean why would I. Want. A /superhero/ suit that would be. Totes cray cray." "I'll try to be gentler in my hellos," says 'lina, casting a little grin. "I think you were just thinking about something - and I managed to interrupt your thought process, so - I'm sorry about that a little bit. Just a little bit, though," she says, bringing up a hand, holding a little space between her thumb and forefinger. He was swaying, she was pretty steady - stepping to one side to give him a clear path to the house, if he wanted, if only to give him the comfort of that visual reminder. "I've only met them by reputation - a lot of people here... well... one or two, seem to be a little terrified of those guys. They were saying they /ate/ someone - but that doesn't seem true, um... right?" she says, the smile fading a little bit as she gets a slightly nervous sort of look - although that look was kinda chased away by the chomping motions, a bemused smile replacing it. "So you're making a suit like that to help them out? That's amazingly sweet of you, um. If that's what you're doing it for." Noticing the violet blush - come on, it was hard /not/ to - 'lina's eyes kinda watch Peter's own, biting her lower lip. That was... a reaction. "Yeah. It would be cray cray. I um... it would just be for the other guys, right?" she says. A beat. Awkward. Subject change? "Have you met, uh... Kisha?" she asks. "--oh. Oh, uh..." The mention of whether or not the sharktwins /actually/ ate someone -- well. If things seemed awkward before, Peter's elevating the AWKWARD METER up past 11: "--they, uh. They're, I mean. They--" Peter's face shifts from violet to a deep, abundant indigo; he nibbles on his bottom lip and suddenly shoves his hands deep into his pockets. Tiny toe-scuff: "They won't -- hurt you or anything," he says, notably avoiding an answer to the question. "I mean they're really sweet, just. Don't /attack/ them." Peter drags his eyes up back to meet Karolina's. The awkwardness evaporates a little at the mention of the suit being for them; his lips twist up into a smile! "Oh, uh, I mean, yeah once I've got a really -- thin? Easy-to-use prototype working I'll make one for them, but /originally/ I started on it because I kinda don't sweat either, what with the chitin, plus when I wear armor, it gets--" Oh, right: "...err, I mean. YesI'vemetKisha. She. Builds some pretty cool things." Eyes /swing/ way over toward the hot tub. Peeeeeer. Karolina takes a step back, in the (vain) hope that giving Peter a little space would kinda help turn the awkward down to 9 or so. Because it was starting to be contagious, a bit - it would take a bit of observation, but the colors around her face and neck were preferring the redder ends of the spectrum, although there was still the influence of yellows, blues, or otherwise briefly making a stay there. "You know, I really didn't plan on attacking /anybody/," she says, although her face kinda falls. "Although I did attack you kinda, but that wasn't me," she says. The smile seems to draw a look of relief from her as well, a heady sigh leaving 'lina. Eyebrows lift at the mention of armor - it was perhaps evident that she kinda knew what he was implying, even if he wasn't going to outright /say/ it. 'lina was too polite to push, anyways. "Kisha, yeah," she says, kinda slowly at first, pursing her lips in thoughtfulness. "She seemed... well, honest and opininated. She seemed nice, overall, um... though," she says, her words slowing as she notes the direction of Peter's gaze. "Uh... what?" "--ohpffft, that wasn't your fault," Peter /ANNOUNCES/, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "'Sides, the twins would be able to tell, they're -- a lot quicker than people think -- about things um. Oh," he adds, draaaaagging his eyes away from the pool to set back on Karolina, oh-so-hesitantly: "Just, um. It's -- yeah it's." He reaches forward, again. To knock on his chest. Slightly hard clunk! "--yeah it's -- a superhero suit don't tell anyone." Peter soon adds, as he wrinkles his nose: "Though /honestly/ at this point I don't think it matters I think everyone /knows/ I have, like, the worst secret identity /ever/." "Thanks!" says Karolina, kinda making a wide gesture with one hand, "For being gracious, I mean. About the whole hitting you business. I still felt a little bad about it, even though it /wasn't/ my fault, it's just," Karolina pauses. A beat. A sigh, and she runs her hand through her hair again, composing herself. "Is it, safe to just, you know - go say hello to them?" she asks, kinda leaning towards Peter a bit. Lowering her voice to a whisper, as if to keep it a secret, Karolina says, "I didn't know you did the superhero thing - going outside, and fighting crime? Are the teachers okay with that? I mean, I won't tell, and I probably wouldn't have guessed, but..." she pauses a moment, glancing away, before she looks back again. "You are like the worst liar /ever/," she says, the corners of her lips rising up. "--oh, /yeah/ they're totally -- I mean Shane can be /such/ a jerk sometimes," Peter admits, and even though there's a /hint/ of an eyeroll there -- just beginning! -- there's also a budding smile at the thought, "but Sebastian's the sweetest oh my God sometimes you just want to scoop him up and give him. /All/. The hugs. You can tell 'em apart because Shane will curse like crazy and Sebastian -- uh, won't." "O--/oh/," Peter replies, to the SUPERHERO thing, the tone of his face fluctuating between violet and indigo: "I mean -- not really /crime/ I just. Kind of -- /used/ to -- run around, uh, rescuing people from fires? I think... the teachers uh, kind of know, but don't want me to -- do that. But yeah, like -- /I/," Peter then adds, with a flutter of his hand to his chest -- torso swelling up with pride! -- "once stopped an out-of-control /train/." "Maybe I shouldn't meet him, then. I can be waaaay too much of a hugger," says Karolina, with a wryness to her voice. "Although that's not much of a thing - I've seen a lot of students here that will curse like crazy," says 'lina, "Which is cool, I guess. It's all just language, just because everyone says these words are 'bad', that means there's a ban on them?" she says, with a heady sigh, her hands going back to tuck her thumbs into her jean pockets, once more. Lifting her brows at the mention of stopping a /train/, Karolina pauses a moment, "How? I mean - wow - that was amazing. Is that how they knew to come find you? Were you on the news and stuff?" she asks, her tone dancing up with interest. "And well, yeah, they want to keep us safe, but. There's so much that's messed up in this world - I think they know that if we can honestly help, we should. Like a duty, or something." "He's okay with hugs oh man I bet he'd /love/ hugs I think most people are afraid to hug him 'cuz of the teeth and claws? But he's definitely a hugger," Peter continues, his speech suddenly gaining momentum -- the more comfortable he is, the faster he talks, which can sometimes make things hard to follow. "--oh yeah I don't think you'll get in trouble for curse-words here oh man if you did, Shane would basically be in. Detention forever. He might already be in detention forever though he gets detention a /lot/." "O-oh, uh, um," and now Peter's clearly embarrassed, a hand reaching up to scratch at the back of his head; he grins a little crookedly. "N-no, they found me. Way before the TRAIN thing um. It was a subway train -- somebody -- snapped the rails? I, uh. Asploded one of my thwippy things." He gestures at the wrist mounted THWIPPERS. "--and it kind of. Glued it. It was crazy dangerous /anyway/ I probably shouldn't have done it but it was /so/ sweet, like super-sweet. And yeah though I think--" Peter's eyes drift back to the mansion, looking at it, something thoughtful passing over his face: "I dunno I sometimes think. The bald Picard-looking dude? Uh that's," he waves at the mansion, "Xavier he's like. A PSYCHIC or something. I /think/ he wants us to be -- just, like. Kids. In high-school. But man I'm way too /awesome/ to just do /that/." BEAMING grin. It takes a bit of concentration for Karolina to keep up with Mr. Parker when he goes full kilt like that. Running her tongue over her lips, she furrows her brow, and leans forward a bit, ignoring the bit of hair that falls into her hair. "Yeah," says Karolina, nodding her head at appropriate points to verify to Pete that she was listening. "What does he do to get in detention? Shane, I mean," she says. Looking down to the source of the THWIPiness, Karolina nods her head. "That bio-organic glue. It was strong enough to stop a /train/?" she says, sounding amazed. "A speeding train? I may have asked this before, but /how/ did you discover this again?" she says. "Because that's amazing," she says. Finally, a nostalgic little smile at the last, Karolina straightening up. "I... guess I can understand why he'd want to do that. But I think it's a bit late for most of us," she says, finally fixing her hair with another brush of her hand. She needed a clip like desperately. Or a scrunchy or something. "I'm just glad to be... safe here, you know?" "Skipping class, badmouthing teachers, uh, being disruptive, not doing his homework -- um," Peter's brow scrunches, ticking things off on his fingers. He soon gives up: "I can't think of anything he /doesn't/ get detention for, really." At the mention of the origin of the glue, Peter's blush deepens, and: "I didn't... I mean, it's. Not /actually/ mine, I just. The glue is from Oscorp? I turned them into the thwippy things. I had a /lot/ of help, Kisha -- and others -- helped me design them." Peter grins at the mention of safety: "Yeah, I..." The grin flickers, kind-of eroding at the edges: "Before I got all the..." He gestures at his face, waving. "--chitin? It was really easy. Nobody knew I was, uh. Y'know. But the twins've been blue /forever/. It's really rough finding places that don't -- places that are safe, I guess?" /Now/ the grin kind of vanishes, replaced with a crumpled brow: "Shane's gotten shot. Sebastian was in Evolve -- a coffee shop in the city? -- when it got firebombed. And that's just in, like, the last few months." Karolina smiles a little bit at the mention of all the sins Shane does, "I guess all that stuff is forgiveable. He's probably not very used to a whole school environment, huh?" she says. "Do you think he is... well, happy, here , in spite of all the rules and things?" says Karolina, quirking her head a bit to the side. "You /probably/ mentioned that when I asked you about it in the workshop, huh?" she says. "But thinking of putting it into shooters like that is really amazingly clever, too," says Karolina, straightening up again. When Peter starts talking about what happened to the other kids, she frowns, and readily, the young woman stepping away, glittering light following her as she lifts up her hands, to kinda hug herself. "Yeah. I wish... I wish for a lot of things, that everyone here wishes for too, I guess. I remember being... you know, normal. A part of the crowd. And this happens - and it's beautiful, and amazing, and I /feel/ so much better for these sparkles, but..." Karolina lets her voice trail off, a little smile, this one a little more rueful, on her lips. "... life goes on. And we just gotta hang on until people start seeing mutants are normal, too. I mean, it's happening with, you know, gay people, now. Being allowed to marry, and everything. Society just needs to realize that persecuting /anything/ for what they are is bad, but. People get scared, and do stupid things until they know it's safe." "Sometimes," Peter says, at the question of Shane-happiness. "I know --" A mental stormcloud darkens his expression, just for a moment: "--some of the kids give him a hard time, here. Sometimes. I think -- it helps, um. That. I'm here. Others -- Daiki? Taylor. Shelby -- Rasa. Friends." The stormcloud passes; Peter grins! The grin flickers and dims at the mention of Karolina wishes; it settles into something more neutral, on the border between Concerned and Curious. "Man," Peter says, stepping forward caaaaautiously, like -- he isn't sure! If he is allowed to do this. Is this cheating? Peter doesn't know! He teeeentatively reaches a hand out for Karolina's shoulder: "/I/ think the sparkly thing is pretty awesome I mean I don't even get why people gotta make a /thing/ out of it. Is that all you do? I mean uh -- I don't mean that like -- a /bad/ thing that is a pretty--" FLUSH. "--awesome thing on its OWN just, I am curious! Because, mutations are -- weird? And um, y-yeah." Karolina does smile a bit at the mention of friends, her eyes growing a bit distant as she shifts - albiet a bit uncomfortably. "Yeah, as far as problems went, I had it easier than it sounds like the shark twins would have. I have the benefit of being 'pretty', where they are probably seen as monsters," says Karolina, "But I've gone hungry, and been tazered, I suppose, because of the sparkles, so, yeah," she says, a sigh leaving her that she slips into a smile. Karolina doesn't quite seem to mind the touch upon her slender shoulder, the young woman giving Peter a widening smile. "I'm okay," she says, as if sensing his concern. "Cross my heart and hope to croak," she adds. There was a bit of sadness in her tone, regardless, memories assailing her more than anything else, and she lifts her head skyward. "I can fly. I don't know how it's done, but I can fly," she says, glancing back down to him. "And utilize this energy to generate fields, I guess. The flying is fun, and the fields have come in handy, so I'm lucky, very lucky," she says, her smile growing a bit more 'real' with the pretty flub. "See? And that makes it all worthwhile. But the whole chitin thing? You look pretty badass like that, you know," she says. "And maybe in twenty, thirty years, it'll all get better, and we can go out /looking/ like this more often." "--sharktwins are pretty," Peter says, but this is mentioned with a grin. The grin quickly slips down into a frown! At the mention of going /hungry/ and being /tazered/. He /looks/ like he's about to say something about that, but then Karolina mentions she can /fly/ and excuse me pardon me WHAT did you just say? Peter's eyes get as wide as saucers; the grip on Karolina's shoulder tightens -- maaaaybe just along the edge of being uncomfortable. He's got a /really/ strong grip: "...you can. Fly? Like. /Fly/ fly? Like, in the air, fly? Like --" Peter releashes Karolina's shoulder long enough to lift his hands in a Superman pose, eyes still wide, and make -- whooshing noises! "Well, you uh... know what I meant. I haven't seen them yet!" says Karolina, the tone of her voice encouraging the smiles on the other's face. Karolina wasn't exactly the tanky sort - if he used a little too much strength, there might be a slow expression of pain on her features, a pinching around her mouth and eyes. Regardless, it was enough for her to breathe easier when she was released, Karolina's smile vibrantly returning. Ducking a bit, she leaps into the air - and doesn't come back down, the young woman tilting her eyes downward to look upon Peter as she just... hovers. Kinda. She was wobbling back and forth midair. "Like fly through the sky fly. Although... not too fast, without my goggles, you know? It stings to hit a bug or something, flying around," she says, expression and tone wry. "..." Peter's staring at her. Just, kind of staring. Eyes still huge. A hand very, very gingerly lifts -- pointing up at her. Then, in a voice that is so tiny she /might/ need to strain to hear it: "You're. Flying." There was a moment, and Karolina bites her lower lip - hovering slowly downward, her eyes fixed on the ground, she draws nearer to it - before she seems to 'release' whatever it was that was bearing her aloft, landing on the ground with a bit of a heavy thump, "I..." she was being pointed at, and there was that preference for the reds in her cheeks again. "Yes, I... uh," she says - her turn to be awkward. "Like a... see? I'm lucky," she says. "--you. Fly," Peter repeats, only to add: "You can fly." Another pause: "Like, /really/. Fly. Like. Superman -- fly. No wings or -- you can /fly/," he says, emphatically -- and now, both hands SMACK together with a loud clap! "--ohmygod you can /fly/ what the /heck/ that is the most awesome -- how /fast/?! What's your top speed how does it even /work/ are you projecting force out of your legs or something you can /fly/," Peter repeats, forcefully, as if this was some sort of revelation he was imparting to Karolina. His words pop out so quickly they seem to mash together into a single stream -- so fast and steady one may be concerned he isn't taking time to /breathe/. "I fly," repeats Karolina, seeming a little bit, well, uncertain about the whole thing now, but nonetheless, a little smile was on her lips. There was a bit of a jump from her at the clap, and she bites her lower lip. "I... well, uh!" The questions were coming fast and furious to her. "I can feel a twisting in my chest and belly a little bit, and I just... take off?" she says, fixing upon one of the questions in the barrage of words. "I... wow! Is flying something you want to do, too, or um, something, Peter?" "You--" Peter starts, in response to Karolina's question -- and for a moment he wears a starkly /incredulous/ expression. Before! His eyebrows pinch together, as if in realization: "Oh. /Oh/. You don't --" Peter /flails/ his hands at Karolina. "You don't even realize it oh my /God/ duh you don't read comi--Karolina." Full-stop. This is Peter's serious face. Look at how serious it is. It is so serious he is reaching out BOTH hands to -- very gently! But very /firmly/ -- take hold of Karolina's arms. Deep breath, and: "Karolina, you absorb solar energy. And use it. To /fly/," Peter informs her, before: "You. Are. KARA ZOR-EL, LAST DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON." Peter speaks these words as if he has just BLOWN KAROLINA'S MIND. Being flailed at was never a fun experience, and Karolina takes a step back away from Peter as he does so. "I, Peter?" she asks, noting the seriousness of his features. He moves to grasp her arms, and she lets him, her brow furrowed in a place between concern and fear, her eyes searching his face. As an aside, where he touched? That rainbow glow seemed to wash over his own skin, giving him a similar appearance to Karolina, if only in his hands. And then the revealation. Karolina waits a moment. "Yay?" she says, sounding entirely unconvinced. "Who is... uh... that?" Peter's mouth opens, closes, opens, and closes again. Brow /knitting/: "--that's. You don't know who--that's SUPERGIRL. Power Girl! Or--" Peter's eyes drift down to his hands, now. Where RAINBOWS have apparently INFECTED HIS CHITIN. "Ah!" he says, and one hand snaps away -- staring at it, wiggling his fingers. "Wha--you got. Rainbows are the rainbows -- contagious?" This doesn't sound /scared/ so much as /fascinated/. He looks down at his other hand, still on Karolina's arm. /Peeeeeering/ at it closely. "Ohman you make /everything/ sparkle." "I... Supergirl? I know her!" says Karolina, lamely looking for something to grasp out of this conversation that was suddenly /very/ focused on her. His cry of surprise was mirrored by a cry of surprise of her own, "AH!", Karolina glancing down to him - the energy that effused his hand would disappate very very quickly as soon as he pulled his hand away. Laughing a bit nervously, Karolina brings up her hand, kinda wiggling her fingers. "W-well, sure. I mean, my clothes are sparkling too, you see, so, um. Yeah, I... just put out a lot of energy? I have no idea. Kisha wants to examine me, and do tests and things..." she was kinda growing a bit quiet under all this scrunity. "Ohman Kisha's like /bizarro/ smart and can build like /anything/ but she's kind of scary too," Peter informs Karolina, only now! Retracting his hand away from her. Still wiggling his fingers, trying to see if he can catch the point of 'dissipiation'. "I mean I'm sure she wouldn't hurt you but she'd probably kind of freak you out? She freaks /me/ out, sometimes. But I guess I freak /myself/ out sometimes so--oh, uh, I'm--sorry I kind of." Peter pauses. Takes a /big/ breath. Silently counts down from 10 (in about two seconds): "--sorry, I sometimes run. Kind of fast," Peter admits, apologetically, now forcing himself to speak much more slowly. "But it's really cool that you can /fly/." "I don't know, she seemed really nice. At least, she didn't seem as bad as say, well, others I have met," says Karolina, drawing her arm away from him - and, well, inadvertantly taking a step back as well. The energy did dissipate rather quickly, in moments after drawing away from the source - too fast for human eyes to really catch the exact point. "Well, maybe she would, if she got scientific. She seemed okay when I said no drugs, and no being strapped to frightening machines..." she says, drawing quiet as she watches him kinda compose himself again. "You just think way way faster than the rest of us," she says, gently. "It's part of what makes you so so smart, right?" she says, with a widening smile. "Maybe that can be my secret code name, when I become a superhero too, right? ~Supergirl~?" she says, a bit cheekily. "O-oh, I'm not -- like -- I mean," and here Peter /flushes/ with color, yet again! "--I can't stay focused on things I guess? I guess I think fast I dunno I just have a hard time slowing down it's like I want to think all the things all at once, um. Oh," Peter adds, with a widening grin, "yes you can be. /Supergirl/."