2014.02.04 - J. L. A. +1?

Gabriel has actually dressed up today. Instead of his usual long coat, t-shirt and jeans he's wearing a nicely pressed pair of chinos, a royal blue button down and, well, his long coat. But its been newly cleaned and oiled.
As he reaches the entrance to the Hall of Justice he sows down then stops to take in the sight. As he stands there he murmurs to himself, "I don't know how good an idea this really is..."
Superman just happens to be in the building today. Most days, he's up at the Watchtower; the true home of the League. Today, however, he's been in meetings with the Defense Department, trying to get some important answers to some important questions. It's proven more frustrating than originally anticipated.
Gabriel takes a deep breath and resumes his approach into the Hall. Coming up to the reception he waits until he's acknowledged by the receptionist then says, "Hi. Is this where I should put in my application to join the Justice League? Wonder Woman suggested I should consider it..."
"Gabriel," says the woman behind the desk with a smile. "Yes, Princess Diana said you might be coming. In fact, Superman happens to be be in the building if you'd like to meet with him." The woman with a dark bun at the back of her head looks over her shoulder, and sure enough, Superman is standing talking with a handful of people.
The young man follows the receptionist's gaze over to Superman then hesitates again. After a few seconds he repeats the process he went through at the entrance to the building, takes a big breath, and nods, "If its part of the process and he has the time, sure. But I wouldn't want to interrupt otherwise. I'm sure he has a lot more important things to do."
The woman smiles and nods, "One moment." After about 30 seconds, she looks up, obviously having had a one person conversation via headphone. "I'll show you to the meeting room." She leads Gabriel away and off to a side hallway where she opens the door for him. Inside is the Man of Steel.
"Hello," Superman says with a smile. "You must be Gabriel."
Gabriel steps into the meeting room then just stares. To his credit, the stare only lasts a few moments before he takes a few steps closer and offers his hand, "I am. Ummm... If you don't mind my asking, how does everyone seem to know my name?" He seems a bit confused about this part. He hasn't even filled out any forms yet...
"From Diana. She mentioned to me that you might be dropping by. Your name is Gabriel, right? She'd mentioned you had an interest in joining the league." Superman moves to shake Gabriel's hand. "People call me Superman. It's nice to meet you."
Gabriel makes it a point to be firm with his handshake without even giving a hint of doing the whole 'I can squeeze hard than you can' bit so many men engage in. Gabe might not be a genius but he not an idiot either. As he nods he says, "Its nice to meet you... Formally this time... So how does the process work?"
"Well, there's a short little bureaucratic form they can give you at the front desk. That's a mere formality though. When you tell me you want in, I'll put your name before the league and there will be a vote. After that, I'll contact you." Superman smiles and shrugs. "Simple as that."
Gabriel stuff his hands into his pockets and nods. "Soooo... No tests of abilities, no super-powered obstacle courses, no gauntlets?" He seems a bit surprised about how simple the process seems.
"The true test is the one in front of Princess Diana of Themyscira," Superman says with a chuckle. "If you get her blessing, it gives the rest of us little pause."
Well, Gabriel seems to relax somewhat quickly. At least enough to tell Superman his real thoughts, "Honestly? I think she wants me to join just so she can keep an eye on me easier. Did she mention anything about my abilities?" He smiles in a way that suggests a bit of shyness combined with a lot of mischief.
"She did not. I admit that I caught her in passing, so we honestly didn't have a lot of time to compare notes," Superman responds. "How about you enlighten me?"
Gabriel's smile widens a little more and then he focuses on Superman. A few seconds after he starts focusing on the Man of Steel Gabriel's form kind of melts into what is best described as a large, golden amoeba. Which solidifies a few seconds later into an identical copy of Superman himself down to the uniform.
Nodding his head a bit has says, still in Gabriel's voice, "This is the first part. Right now, its just a cosmetic change. But if I were able to touch you and keep contact for a few seconds the... copy would be much deeper. Identical in every way, to be exact."
"Works great on double dates for friends in need, I imagine," Superman says with a smile. He inspects the Superman clone and scans the being with his x-ray vision. "How long do you take on the attributes and the look?"
Superman II chuckles and shrugs, "Until I take another form." The scan would show a normal human being i incredibly good physical condition... Well, as normal as a mutant gets. "When I change just looking at someone I only get whatever powers are 'visible' so to say. I've seen you lift battleships. Right now, I could, maybe, bench-press about 350. If I copied you by touching you..." He hesitates for a moment here then decides that if he's going to do this he's going to do it right. "Well, I'd be able to do everything you can do. Not with the same amount of skill but the potential would be there."
Superman nods, "Sounds pretty remarkable." Inwardly, Superman is a bit worried that the boy might try to copy him. Should he take on all the sensory abilities without the training and self-determination Superman went through, the ramifications could be severe.
Superman II lets his form melt going back through the same transformation process of becoming a big blob of gold-colored ectoplasm before solidifying back into Gabriel. With a little shrug he says, "Well, about as remarkable as a squid changing colors. It was just something I was born with." Then he's back to giving Superman that mischievous smile as he adds, "Do you see why I think Miss Wonder Woman just wanted me to join so she could keep an eye on me?"
"No," Superman says with a chuckle. "I'm sure Wonder Woman has her reasons that are far greater in purpose and scope than just keeping an eye on you. I imagine she has more faith in you than you appear to."
Gabriel stuffs his hands back into his pockets as he laughs a bit. "Well, I do try to do as much good as I can, wherever I can. It was a small thing but I help you once too... About a year ago. Some cars fell into a sinkhole. I looked like Warren Worthington..."
Superman tilts his head, "Ah yes, I remember now. Wow, that was a year ago already? Crazy how time flies." After another chuckles, Superman adds, "So what do you think, Gabriel. Should I put your name up for consideration?"
Takes a moment to consider this then nods his head, "I think so, yes. If you think I could be of help, I'd be honored actually."
Gabriel takes a moment to consider this then nods his head, "I think so, yes. If you think I could be of help, I'd be honored actually."
Superman nods, "Fantastic. I'll get things started up there right away." Up there? "If you want to fill out that sheet when you go, that'd be great. It'll be great to have you on the team. You'll learn a lot and folks will learn a lot from you, too."
Yep, that is definitely a dismissal. A polite one but still. Gabriel actually bows a little bit and points back towards the receptionist's desk. "Just fill it out at the receptionist's desk then?"
Category:Log