2013.05.08 - Garth Insults the Ladies

Getting the new multi-purpose exercise machine in place wasn't a problem. Fixing up the rest of the gymnasium... well, Rokk wouldn't let him do it the -easy- way. Something about learning -responsibility-.
As if. 
Nonetheless, floating up there repairing the broken pipes wasn't too bad, not for a former agriculture farmboy... 
A multi-purpose wrench clatters against the ground. 
... well, except for sprocking bolts that wouldn't tighten -right-. 
S"Sprocking no good son of a dirj mothersprocking slartibarfast!" 
Entering the gym for her daily workout, Marya looks around the place. She'd earned her spot in the Legion through a lot of hard work, not because she had the most awesome powers ever seen, and just because they'd ended up out of time, she wasn't going to stop that. And lucky Garth got to fix the gym up. It wasn't repaired yet? Seriously, what a slacker the guy was. The teenager walks over and picks up the wrench.
"Lose something?" she asks, tossing the wrench back up towards the guy. "What're you repairing, anyway?" Translation: What did we break without meaning to break it?
Garth reaches for the wrench, then has to end up swooping down and catching it after it doesn't -quite- reach his fingers. 
Catching the multipurpose wrench, Garth flies back into position, moving to adjust the bolt so that he can slide the last panel in place, and be -done- with repairs. "The damage from when we had our little powers orientation, Marya," Garth replies, as he gives Marya a -look-. Considering the new machine and the location of the damage, one guess -who- did the damage? 
"Ahh," Marya says. She looks like she has absolutely no remorse about the whole powers orientation and damage done to the place. Hey, she had to demonstrate on something, so she got rid of the treadmill with her acid breath. That seemed like a win-win scenario to her. Though the pipes...okay, yeah. Her breath might have done some damage there. Whoops!
She flies up to take a look at panel and nods before flying back down and starting to stretch. "We should really find somewhere a little more sturdy for that type of practice," Marya suggests to Garth. "I mean, my powers might be flashiest, but I doubt they're the most dangerous or damaging of those that are here," she points out as though she's discussing the weather.
Another who was part of that demonstration comes to linger for the moment in the entranceway. Jazmin considers the gym, her attention going up to Marya and Garth flying up and around fixing things. She moves more fully into it, keeping quiet for the time being, just looking up to see what they're up to, and in the echoing of the quiet gym, listening in.
The treadmill had been replaced, so, no win for Marya!
"Yeah, maybe that's what the holosim are for. And forcefields. I should see about rigging forcefields for that sort of work," Garth replies, as he taps the panel in place, and then flies back down, tossing the wrench into the toolbox, ignoring the rattle it makes as it clangs in and out. "Or I could just write a memo and send it on up to Rokk and let -him- deal." 
Flashing a grin at Marya, Garth turns towards Jazmin, eyebrows going up. "Hey, Jaz, come on in! What're you lurking out there for? Practicing wallflower skills?" 
Ohh, but treadmills are evil! Eeeeviiill! Running was meant to be done outdoors, not inside on a conveyer belt! "That'd be a good idea," Marya responds to Garth with a nod. "That or the memo idea," she adds with a laugh. Ohh, delegation of duties. The best thing possible! Or rather letting the big boss deal with it. That worked to.
A wave is given to Jazmin. "Hey," she greets evenly to the other one who had been a bit of a troublemaker in class.
"I thought my wallflowering was on the weak side, and I am clearly right about that if you're hollering at me. Terrible wallflowering to get /noticed/." Jazmin quirks her head and then shrugs. "Protective suits, or just match up training with those who have invulnerability. And use trash if we're destoying items. I can't imagine there's not construction detritus floating around somewhere. Just takes good partnering when we're using one group of us against another group of us in scenarios." She lifts a hand to Marya, a flicker of a smile. "Hey. How goes?"
"Eh, only so-so," Garth grins, making a sideway gesture with his hand.
Looking back towards Marya, Garth grins. "Good, I'll write the memo." 
Motioning for Jazmin to come in, the Legionnaire co-founder shakes his head ruefully. "So you're going to volunteer to keep -her- from unnecessary destruction, Jazmin, or encourage her at it?" Judging from the look on his face, he didn't think they were going to be any good at avoiding -unnecessary- destruction, although the half-smirk on his face acknowledges the irony of -Lightning Lad- saying this. 
"Hey now, to be fair, I only engage in destruction that I believe is necessary. Now, if everyone else shares that definition, well, that's a different story. Besides, sometimes just breaking something fixes a problem a whole lot faster," Marya responds, stretching her arms over her head. "Not so much that you're hurting someone, but scare them a little bit, or wreck their fancy and precious toys, and half the villains suddenly become a lot easier to deal with".
No, Marya didn't have some rosey view of always being a shining beacon of light to humanity. "Though I like the trash idea. Rig something up. Sports have machines that throw balls, don't they? Use those for target practice?" she suggests.
"You /asked/ for a powers demo." Jazmin points out to Garth. "Not a powers description." She nods to Marya with a gesture. "Exactly. Get some target practice going. I was going to suggest we maybe start up a house league of frisbee or magnoball or something. Get folks in the habit of flying around and working together. I think there's enough of us for two teams, even if they're a little short to start. We seem to be gaining people every other day."
"Not a bad idea, Marya, but that's what the sim room is for," Garth says, motioning towards the general direction of it. 
Jazmin gets a slightly sappy half-grin. "Oh, we've got a -lot- of new Legionnaires showing up. My twin sister showed up the other day. She's flitting around right now somewhere." Because, dammit, _AYLA_'s here. "Run into her yet? She's not as good-looking as me, but hey, it's hard to miss a Lightning Lass." 
"Yeah, but sometimes there's something to be said for doing it with something physically there, not just a sim. It's tough to explain," Marya responds with an easy shrug. That's just her opinion though. Sims were fine and great, but still, actually doing something with real stuff had an impact, too.
"Haven't run into her yet. How many are we up to now, anyway?" the girl asks curiously. "Seems like, at some point, I might get someone who recognizes me". That'd be kind of nice, honestly. Though that hadn't happened yet.
"I haven't yet, no." Jazmin considers Garth and that smile and there's a faint of her own, only a moment before the neutral is back. "I haven't spent a whole lot of time in HQ, to be honest. Been out and about, or working on some stuff. I'll keep an eye out for her, and an ear out, if she's anything like you at all Garth." She turns to glance to Marya and there's a twist of her expression into something rueful. "People seem to remember a very different version of me. I'm not sure it's much /better/. I have a list, but I think its already outdated. Eighteen at my last count, but as I said, I expect its already outdated. I mean it's /hours/ old."
"Well, if you want to do it with something -real-, talk to Brainy, maybe he can arrange, I don't know... ninjabots or something," Garth replies, waving his hand in the air like it wasn't a big deal.
The ginger Legionnaire then adds to Jazmin's reply, "Twenty. Maybe more if Supergirl agrees to join. If they're bringing together infinite Legions, we probably should be watching out for... grife, if my -brother- shows up, it's going to either be epic, or be utter fail." 
"Yeah, people are coming from different timelines, but so far, nobody even remembers a Marya Pai or Dragonwing. It's a little bit disturbing, you know?" Marya responds to Jazmin with a shrug. "I mean, I know things about a number of people from my timeline, but nobody has a clue about me. It's sprocking weird, given the probabilities involved I suppose". The redhead just shrugs at that.
"Twenty, huh? And Supergirl? Probably makes sense to recruit some of those from this time, if they want to join. I've not been in headquarters that much either. Been out getting to know this city a little better from this timeline". There's a pause. "And Chinatown could stand to be more authentic," she adds with a shake of her head.
"Mmm. I'll talk to Brainy. I havne't met him yet, I'm sure opening with requests is going to be /awesome/." Jazmin points out with a half amused little snort. She considers Marya's words and her brow furrows a little. "That is weird, come to think of it. I'm getting used to people recognizing me when I don't know them, but the other way around has to be irritating." She takes a breath, let out after only a moment and then asks Garth. "Who's your brother?"
"Yeah. Superman's around, he's helping us get home," Garth grins, pausing to eye Marya. "Authentic? Why authentic? I mean, can you get more authentic than sesame chicken?" 
Someone might have to explain to him that Chinese food was, in fact, not actually Chinese food. 
The little snort draws a grin at Jazmin. "_I_ don't recognize you, if that makes you feel better," he grins, before he runs a hand through his hair. "Mekt Ranzz. Lightning Lord." Just in case she was more familiar with -that- super-villain name. Which she likely was. 
"Ah! I'm sure sunday dinners at your place were just /awesome/." Jazmin quips at Garth before giving a general shrug at the notion of going 'home'. She glances at her comm device and then takes a few steps away to deal with it.
"Yes. Yes you can," Marya responds to Garth with a shake of her head. "Sometime, we'll go to China, and I'll show you real Chinese food and culture," the woman tells him, still shaking her head. There is, however, a raised eyebrow. "So, all of you have lightning powers. Is it a hereditary thing where you get the same abilities? That seems kind of...well, expected after awhile. I hope one of you has written a manual for whenever you have kids so they know what to expect," she points out with a smirk.
"Huh." As Jazmin excuses herself, Garth tilts his head to inspect Marya a bit more. "You're familiar with China, are you...? Were your ancestors from...? Uh... is China a planet, or a city?"
Okay, so he wasn't versed in -Earth- history. 
Running a hand through his hair, Garth shakes his head. "Not hereditary. We just crashed onto an island, and Mekt had a plan, and... well, things got sprocked up and these lightning beasts somehow gave us these lightning powers. And Ayla disappeared for a while because... well, it's a really long story..." 
"China is a country on Earth. I'm from Earth, so I've got a little bit of advantage here," Marya Pai explains. Yes, she's one of those strange 'earthlings' who sometimes end up in the Legion. Hey, it happens! Sometimes! "Though some of these places, I don't care how much you time travel, they just never change". China being one of them, honestly. The core of it, at least.
"Ahh, okay. Sorry to hear that they came about in such a difficult way," Marya adds. She didn't mean to bring up a bad memory for Garth! Much as she gives crap to people, she doesn't usually meant to cause harm, even emotional.
"Huh. Well, then you should at least feel a little bit -more- at home here. Why don't we just go there, get a look around, and... well, grife, we can just look around. Bring Jazmin, and Ayla, and... well, Rokk's probably seen it already. Get all the young Legionnaires together, have a little bit of fun, eh?"
The grin Garth flashes at Jazmin might be a 'dare ya to -have fun- smile, and it doesn't fade as the redheaded Legionnaire waves a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, it's just a really long story. Important thing, Ayla's back, and she's -my- age again. Even if it's sprockin' weird that Mekt -joined- the Legion." 
"Sorry about that." Jazmin comments as she returns back to the group, looking between them and frowning a little at the general tone of the conversation and turns into a somewhat purposefully serene grin at Garth at the silent dare. "That's what I've been doing, generally. Looking around, and just because Rokk's seen it doesnt necessarily mean he wouldn't wnat to come with us."
"We can go check China out. Show you the Great Wall, see how it looks here," Marya responds. "Do either of you speak the...no, you probably don't, do you?" Marya would have to handle all the translation duties, but that was okay. "Though it is a little bit of a trip, even with our flight rings. Halfway around the planet, you know".
"Maybe, but Rokk's too -old- to go joyriding," Garth laughs, nudging Jazmin. "He's a stick in the mud about that kind of thing." 
Glancing at Marya, Garth wrinkles his nose. "We have telepathic earplugs. Or at least ours did. I don't know if... grife, has anyone gotten Brainy out of his lab?" 
Jazmin rolls her eyes. "Only because you keep telling him he's too old for everyhting." Jazmin points out and then looks at her wrist, doing a bit of typing on it. "Well.. looking it up.. I think it would be almost forty hours of flying. I think we can find something to eat a little closer. And no, no one has gotten Brainy out of his lab."
"Little bit of a long flight, yeah," Marya agrees. "Might have to actually do it some other time," she suggests to the other two. "I'm sure we can get some food closer to home. Sprock, we've got food here now, don't we? That stuff is all online?" Marya asks.
"Grife, fine... but if the idea is to have -fun-, you have to make sure to get him -drunk- proper first.." Garth grumps. "He was like 30 when he was 20, so he must be like 50 when he's 40." 
Wrinkling his nose at Jazmin, Garth grunts. "I'll bet you he'll say no thanks, until he hears I'm going, THEN he'll go. But fine. Let's do it."
"Technically, I'm underage. So I shouldn't be getting him drunk." Jazmin points out, not that it sounds as if that would stop her much. "He can say no thanks all he wants, but it's nice to /offer/ at least. He's part of the same Legion as the rest of us, so excluding him because he's /old/ doesn't exactly foster a working relationship."
"Jazmin is right," Marya responds. "We should give him the chance, if he wants to join in. Even if he says no, it's only fair". Besides, it wasn't like he was that bad. Right? At least from Marya's limited experience. Besides, it would be interesting! The girl, however, falls quiet for a minutes.
"Oh... fine. Jazmin, you ask. Just don't mention me. If he says no, -then- tell him I'm going," Garth grumbles. Because he's convinced Rokk totally has it out for -him-. Being all... well, older and quite possibly even more of a stick in the butt than he was when he was actually the same age. 
Still, he has to admit, Jazmin -had- a point, as he gives Jazmin a studious look. "You know, I had you pegged as someone who revolted against authority. Guess I was wrong."
"Yes, I'll ask him." Jazmin nods in agreemwnt and then rolls her eyes at Garth's comment. "I'm not against authority. I'm pretty solidly against stupid, however. And I'm really against tossing up arbitrary divisions in the Legion. It's how people get themselves killed."
"Ahhh grife, I trust Rokk to do stuff, I just don't think he'll..." Running a hand through his hair, re-considering Jazmin's words, Garth throws his hands up, and nods. "Okay, you're new to the Legion, but you're not new to this teamwork stuff. What -were- this group you were in like?" 
"Uncanny Amazers." Jazmin supplies, folding her arms across her chest as she considers Garth and shrugs. "No, not new to this teamwork thing. We were a local super group on Xanthu. Star Boy, Monstress, Atom'X, myself. What do you mean, what was it like?"
"You know, like you just graduated from the minor leagues to the big leagues?" Garth says, running a hand through his hair. "I mean... it's the -Legion-, grife." Pausing as he realizes how that might sound, he hurries to add, "I mean, it's a... grife, it's a big step going from planetary to galactical, isn't it?" 
"No, I'm not finding it much, actually." Jazmin answers honestly. "I'm finding that it's pretty much the same, with more people certainly, but not really different. The principles are the same, and its not like we sat around waiting for people to call and have us fetch their pets out of trees. Local doesn't necessarily mean inexperienced. I was there for Mordru. I have some /clue/."
"Heh. Mordru..." Now Garth's eyes glaze over at the memory of Mordru. "Nemesis Kid really took the bite out of -him-. Glad he was on our side." 
Refocusing on Jazmin, Garth tilts his head. "You've got a pretty good head on your shoulders. Huh. Has Rokk tried putting you on the command track?" 
"Command track?" Jazmin shakes her head at that. "No. Busy work, but I dont think he's got me in mind for that. Well, not anytime soon." She stretches a little, still with her arms crossed. "Mordru sucked. That's about all you can say about that."
"Well, it's worth getting some experience in. Everyone work at it, but sometimes it's worth getting extra instruction in for some people, and..." Grinning at Jazmin, Garth nods. "It's worth seeing what you can do. Better you than me," the young man says, stretching. 
Glancing at Marya, who seems to be poking around at the machines considering new ways to dismantle them without getting caught, Garth motions, two fingers tapping just below his eyes and then turning his hands towards Marya. SO WATCHING YOU.
Jazmin pffts at Garth. "Basic grasp on leadership is useful for /everyone/, as you pointed out. I'm hoping we can do some small group work. We usually end up going out on missions with whoever's around, rather than carefully scripted groups. But enh, it'll come. At this point, we just keep getting people and I haven't met them all. I haven't met half yet." She glances over at Garth's gesture towards Marya and then back to him. "What, you figure she's going to randomly eat the machinery?"
"No, only Tenzil would try and eat that," Garth replies. "Just don't want Marya to use her breath or something on it. Just in case," he says, glaring over at Marya before glancing towards Jazmin. "Well, we'll get to group work soon enough. I can get a small group together and see what we can do. Grife, you should have seen what happened when we stopped Kent's ship from crashing in Metropolis." 
Garth Ranzz, complete with scruffed beard, and Jazmin Cullen, were talking in the freshly repaired gymnasium, toolbox with tools still scattered about, while Marya was being quiet, having wandered off to nose about the machinery. 
"How stupendously outrageusouly freaking STUPID do you think all of us new people /are/, Garth?" Jazmin asks as she just gapes at him. "Do you /really/ think that all the new Legion people are drooling morons who can't control their powers and might fracking piddle on the carpet like a puppy? Really? That's the sort of respect you have for other Legionairres?"
Overhearing some of this, but having chosen to ignore it in favor of checking out the various stuff, Marya walks over and glares at Garth. Smoke actually rises from out of the corners of her mouth, though no fire comes forth when she speaks, which may be a relief.
"Listen to me. I'm not really all that concerned about what you think, frankly, but understand this. I spent plenty of time in the Legion Academy learning how to do this. I don't have the most mind-blowing abilities as some of you. But stupidity is something I can't abide, and how you're expected to train any of us with that type of attitude, I frankly don't sprocking know. Maybe the version Rokk knows of you is more level-headed, or at least not as openly obnoxious about this sort of thing, but if you really think that I'm going to drool on the machines and melt them, then that tells me everything I need to know about the famous Garth Ranzz".
And with that, the girl turns to walk away. She had better things to do than listen to that.
Garth throws back his head, and laughs. "Grife... and I was wondering if -everyone- was gonna be totally level-headed and quiet." Bringing one arm around Jazmin, and the other around Marya, Garth grins. "The two of you aren't afraid to stand up to anyone, are you? Good, we need to see more of your own initiative. Including telling the founder if he's being an ass." 
Cheekily, Garth adds, "Which he is." 
The soft thrum of a transport tube announces the arrival of Brainiac 5 just before he actually chooses to speak. Glancing toward Garth with a raised eyebrow, the green-skinned Coluan inventor remarks, "Your command of contemporary twenty-first century parlance is impressive, Garth, yet I find myself hesitant to accept your encouragement of direct insubordination in our more--shall we say--spirited members." He pauses a few strides into the room, clasping his hands behind his back. "In point of fact, the possibility of anyone with caustic oral emissions, literally speaking of course, DOES present a risk factor, much as does any presence of potentially collateral damage from unrestrained power use."
Val Armorr enters the room to the sound of laughter, always a welcome sound within the Legion Halls. But when he does enter, his eyes are draw to the room itself, rather than to the people in it. "Impressive.." He says quietly "Almost feels like home will in a thousand years." He mutters, then turns his attentions on his fellow legionaries. "If Garth wants to encourage rebellion.. let him. And laugh when it bites him in the rear." He says, and smiles to show he's joking. Mostly.
The arm draped over Jazmin's shoulder is shoved off without ceremony and she takes a step away, her arms still folded across her chest. "No, I'm not afraid to tell you when you're being an ass, or giving over to powerful levels of stupid." She looks over to two new arrivals, no obvious expression of recognition immediately upon her face. "Do you /also/ assume that your fellow Legionairres have no ability to control their own powers and need to be treated like puppies still in need of paper training?"
Is the question posed by Jazmin towards Brainiac. Honest.
And Garth's other arm gets shoved off, and Marya stares at him. "No, I'm not afraid to put you in your place and kick you down a few pegs," Marya responds. "Or, frankly, anyone here if they make the assumption that young equates to foolish. Or is there not a requirement from your Legion that full members have full control over their powers? Sure was where I'm from". She then leans in real close to Garth and plants a kiss right on his forehead with a smirk. If he doesn't dodge away, he'll find it doesn't burn or cause his skin to peel off or anything of that nature, even if there's pure sarcasm and anger behind that kiss rather than affection.
"Oh HEY Brainy!" Garth calls out. "Grife... Uh... I have no idea what you said, but ... grife, you look kinda different, but you sure -sound- like Brainy." 
Having his arms thrown off in tandem, Garth grimaces. "Oh c'mon, guys, don't..." 
His eyes widen as Marya shifts into -that- posture, and Garth immediately -reacts- with a light lightning aura. DO NOT TOUCH, DO NOT APPROACH!
Val Armorr frowns. He's all for sparring, finds combat fun. But fighting teamates is a no no. Founder or not.. "Garth, if you cannot handle the burn, don't play with acid. Old chinese proverb. Confusious was wise beyond his many years." He tosses at the lightning rod. But his gaze shifts to Brainy. Looks fine to him.
Tilting his head slightly to one side, Brainiac regards Jazmin rather like he might an interesting mathematical equation. The silvery discs on his forehead gleam pointedly as they catch the light, underscoring that peculiarity about Brainy -- that he's perhaps a little more computer than person at times. "It would be an assumption to presume that you do not know how to control your powers, but equally so if we took it as a given that you do know how to control them. Respect is an earned quantity, as are faith and credibility. Assessing and learning about your abilities is simply logical." A beat, and he adds, "However, if your true difficulty lies in control over excreting waste, I suppose paper could be provided. It would be wasteful, yet we would not wish to seem unaccommodating."
There is a pause as Jazmin lets Brainiac's words sink in and then she makes a conscious effort to calm. "I disagree. Respect, yes, is earned. This is, however, the Legion, and not an Academy. All of us are full Legionnaires. Garth's assumptions and comments were disrespectful to our basic abilities within the Legion. That is not the Legion I knew, nor the one Marya knew. And suddenly I'm starting to understand why people are anxious to get home, to wherever home might be and not be /here/ anymore." She turns on her heel, to head off towards the door. "And contrary to popular belief, apparently, I am housebroken."
Pulling back, Marya smirks and shakes her head. "Point proven". And with that, Marya also turns to head out the door with Jazmin. Val and Brainy each get nods, but as much as she might like to stay and chat with them, she wasn't planning on hanging around any longer either. She knew when her fire had been roused too much, and she had to go cool off.
Brainiac's circuit-patterned brow furrows slightly, and he steps toward Jazmin. "To clarify, I never doubted that you WERE, in fact, housebroken. I was merely pointing out the needless hyperbole of your metaphor. The point is, we are all Legionnaires, but we do not yet know and trust one another due to a lack of contiguous shared experience. Inevitably, we must verify what it is that we are all capable of doing." As both women seem to be leaving, he turns to look askance at Garth and Val, frowning mildly. "Was this not readily apparent from my commentary?"
"Hnh... Uh, not really, Brainy," Garth shakes his head. "Grife, look... we're all used to certain Legionnaires, and..." His voice trails off. Running a hand through his hair, Garth grimaces. "Okay, so maybe I pushed too hard, you think, Val, Brainy?" Not exactly -the- same Karate Kid he knew, but close enough for jazz. 
Looking up towards the ceiling, Garth grimaces. "Well, I don't know -these- Legionnaires very well. I should fix that, should I?" 
Sighing, Garth starts after them. 
Val Armorr shakes his head. "I of all people know the value of proving yourself." He says simply. "You were clear enough. Perhaps it's simply the wrong time of the month, they appear to be human. From what I understand, that can be a problem sometimes." He says simply, holding both hands out, palms up in wonder.
"There is a .." Jazmin starts and then looks between the trio of men (or men-akin computer types) and then just walks out. She does, however, have a final comment for Val as she passes. "Go sprog yourself."
"...". Marya turns, looks at Val, and spits a green acidic loogie that strikes about six inches from his feet. Far enough away to be considered a warning shot, especially considering it doesn't do anything more damaging than eat away at a little bit of the top layer of finish. Then she walks away.
Val Armorr watches the women leave, but the loogie gives him pause. He doesnt flinch.. but watching it eat the floor a bit, he looks back up. "Control implies more than the simple ability to use your abilities effectively. It also defines WHEN to use them. Just something to keep in mind when getting indignant about questions about your abilities." He adds simply.
Being who he is... and what he is.. his control has never been questioned. Indeed it's the only reason he was allowed to join, the only member without powers.
Brainiac, for his part, looks more startled by Val's comment than Jazmin's Marya's reaction. "Val Armorr, that comment reflects a profound oversimplification of female biological operations, to say nothing of carrying an implicitly deterministic and gener-essentializing connotation. I am... startled, to say the least." Shaking his head and reaching up to lightly stroke his chin, he muses reflectively, "Undoubtedly, this Legion DOES have much adjusting to do."
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