2013.05.12 - Hairballs and Porcupines

The main room of the Fortress of Solitude can perhaps best be described as a palace. The surrounds are a glimmering white both from the tall crystals that reach up towards the tall roof like jagged skinny diamonds and from the intermittent areas that are packed with ice. Where the eyes and light meet at the surrounds, there are sparkles of assorted colors of the rainbow.
At the edge of a large circular clearing two magnificent statues, sculpted to wear classic, formal Kryptonian wear, reach up to support a large crystalline sphere that serves as a computer monitor may in other hero headquarters. Beneath the archway that Jor and Lara El create, a long hallway separates the other rooms from the central hub of the citadel.
Speaking of that clearing, it's currently set up for a party with a distinct other worldly feel. Crystal plateaus hold food and drink from a host of different worlds: there are Killintorian Shellfish, of course, as well as Koy, the porridge-style delicacy from the planet Mkingen IV. For the hearty eaters, no party would be complete without blackened Hirage Beef from the Korin nebulae, or the flash-fried Illisorian birds that always struck Superman as similar to a mix between an eagle and a pterodactyl. The good part is they taste like chicken.
For drinks there are those of the soft variety and those of the hard variety. The most prevalent is the juice made from yinding berries which carry a purple color and are known all across the galaxy. There are also wines from several different worlds: a white, sweet wine from Gromine and a fuller bodied Jellisoyn wine is for those who like a deeper feel.
And there's a six pack of Budweiser, a large bottle of Jack Daniels, and a couple of two liters of cola for those who want a more domestic feel.
Superman, our host, is hard at work doing some feeding, but not really what you might think.
"Sir, are you sure we should be worried about the sun-eater at this point?" asks Superbot7.
"You might not understand this, but sentient beings get pretty cranky when they're hungry." Superman flips open a face shield and gives the bot a look. "Even baby sun-eaters." Unceremoniously he plops down the helmet and, with the large hammer in his right hand, brings down a vicious strike upon the material on a reinforced table of Alien technology. The strike lets out a thunderous boom and is followed by Superman calmly brushing the scrapings down into a pit that sits next to he and his Superbot friend.
Superman hangs the hammer up and makes his way towards the hallway, but Superbot7 can't help but look out over the pit amongst a host of gurgling noises coming from below.
A different bot, this one Superbot3, shuffles into the hallway excitedly, "They're here, sir! They're really here! Oh! I'm so excited!"
"Keep your circuits from showing, 3. Did someone go to meet them?"
"Yes, sir, I believe it was 6."
Superman's face falters a bit, "6? That probably wasn't the best idea." In truth, 6 has always been a bit surly. Well, since his midsection had to be re-worked after what those at the Fortress refer to as the "Incident." Don't ask.
Meanwhile at the front entrance to the Fortress, a Superbot with the number 6 emblazoned across his chest opens the large double doors wide and stands brusquely.
"Whaddya want?!" he asks loudly, almost with a hint of an East Coast accent.
"Whadda-I-want?" Garth retorts back to Robot 6. "Well, my friends and I want to be admitted to your party. We're the Legion of Super-Heroes, buddy, and if you give me any of your lip, you're getting a sprocking -zap- up your nassheaded..."
"Garth. We're /guests/." Jazmin admonishes him as she comes up alongside him and looks to the surly Superbot. "So /shut it/. We're here for the party." She explains to the bot.
"We were invited," Laurel interrupts over the end of Garth's tirade, ever so politely. Though it's the wide-eyed strained sort of 'OH GOD HOW EMBARRASSING' politeness. "You'll have to forgive Lightning Lad, he gets REALLY CRANKY when he hasn't eaten." Laurel says that with a tension and a mild glare at Garth that generally gives off the impression one might be better off playing along. Or else.
Val Armorr eyes Garth. "Garth, leave the bot be. He may be programmed for attitude to amuse. We have no way of knowing." He tells the older member. Val for his part, is dressed in his new uniform, none too different from his old one, just more stylish.
Booster Gold is remarkably quiet, considering he's Booster Gold. He is pretty good at maintaining a cheerful facade, which is why some people tend to think he is a himbo, but at the moment he looks fairly serious and cool-tempered while skulking behind other Legionnaires. Reaching out, he plucks his valet droid Skeets out of the air, brings him close to his face and whispers, "This is awesome." He then lets the little robot go, and Skeets bobs away and gives itself a confused shake.
"That a fact?" The noise comes from the voice box, but might as well come as a sneer from some bar going, blue collar, dock-worker from Jersey. It's directed to Garth as it seems the others are ignored. "Well I got half a mind to-" The bot's remark is cut off with a WHOOOOOSH of air, however, as Superman suddenly appears with a smile and a hand on the shoulder of Superbot6 that pulls the droid back just a bit. "Nevermind this one." Superman's smile broadens even wider, "Thanks for coming everyone. It's really good to see all of you. Come in! Bots 1 and 2 can grab anyone's coats. I hope you're hungry!"
Tasmia is standing in back of the group as they banter with 6. The others are allowed to explain why they are here or, as it seems some are wont to do, chide Garth for his abrupt demeanor. She's still adapting to her arrival to this new... everything, and is not exactly chatty at the moment.
There is just a moment where Jazmin turns her head at hearing Booster's voice and she grins at him before looking back as Superman opens the door. "Thank you for inviting us." She remarks politely, attemtping not to tug at her t-shirt in a moment of self consciousness at the casual in the gorgeous surroundings as she starts to move further into the building. She surrenders on trying not to gawk for just a moment, looking around. "Wow."
"What? Hey, that bot was giving me -lip-! ... Except it doesn't have lip, but..." Garth protests. Superman's quick replacement of the robot causes Garth to stop his train of thought, and the red-haired Legionnaire blinks, before a wide grin of open bonhomie causes him to throw his arms open. "CLARKIE!" he greets, bringing both arms down into a -hug- that would make the most manly of Greek men weep with open jealousy. The hug is turned into a happy noogie, as the Man of Steel's spit-curl is re-arranged briefly into splayed hair before it springs back into position. "It's -good- to see you again. C'mon, lemme introduce you to everyone. You probably know some of these people. Tasmia Mallor, Laurel Gand, Jazmin Cullen, Val Armorr, Buster Gold..."
Robots. Kal got all the coolest toys from Krypton. In a way, she felt kind of like the poor kid next door who had to watch as the rich boy across the street got a new bike and a pony and the latest gaming console and got a new slide while throwing the old ones that she'd have loved to play with in the garbage. In other words, kind of jealous. It was hard not having a place to really call her own, where she could retreat to. Well, one that wasn't a cramped apartment in downtown Metropolis, anyway, where she lived alone with an ornery cat.
But, as she takes her time alternating between skimming along the top of the ocean, and thus causing a giant furrow of waves and ocean spray in her wake, and soaring through the clouds while spinning to create small funnels leading through the different banks of fog-lik substance. What was the fun of flying if you couldn't REALLY enjoy it? It takes her several minutesto reach the artic from South America.
And all along the way, she does that most girlish of things: wonders what she should wear. Sure it was a 'party', which intimated that she should dress comfortably, but it was also for the Legionnaires, which meant she should probably dress as Supergirl for her first meeting with them if she wanted to be taken seriously. So as a sonic boom follows her all the way to the Fortress of Solitude from Chile, that's just what she's wearing when she's swooping in from the clouds out of the blue Artic sky.
Open door, open invite, amirite? And she didn't want to just stand around on the doorstep to meet everyone!
So the red-and-blue blur streaks in towards the ground, levels out, and then whooshes into the Fortress, bypassing the robots completely. Well, it's done at superspeed, but Superman can probably see her little wave and parse the rapid greeting as she rushes by. "Hey, Kal. Bye, Kal." Politeness, waiting to be invited in? Pshaw, that's for people who aren't genetically related. She lands in the main room, where the food is, right next to the fruit. ...And the sweets.
"Thoughtful and polite as ever, Superman," Laurel says - though she keeps her jacket on rather than give it over to the 'bot. She's definitely soaking in the atmosphere of the place -- Daxam and Krypton are very, very different, apparently, and she's probably the Legionnaire with about the very least knowledge of anything Kryptonian at all -- did someone just rush by? Erk?
Superman's arrival has Tasmia a little startled but she recovers quickly and offers the Kryptonian a smile and a wave. She has worn something warm over her ususal clothing, that garment happily relinquished to Kal's help just as Kara arrives. How fast she moves causes the blue-skinned woman to startle all over again before she catches herself and she has to laugh. "I forgot how fast you can move," she calls out but it's impossible to tell who she says that too. Could be Kal just as easily as it could be directed towards his cousin.
Superman smiles to Jazmin. If he thinks she should be self-conscious, he certainly doesn't show it. "Oh! Of course. Once I found out that the crew and some new friends were back in town, I had to throw something together. I hope you like-gah!"
Superman's hair is mussed as he's attacked by Garth. As soon as he's released, he's laughing and trying to smooth out his hair as best he can. Smoothing out his aura is something else entirely. Before he can respond, Garth is off with the introductions, "It's nice to see you all again. And to those I've never met, it's also nice to meet you . Come on in."
It's just then that Supergirl zips on by overhead with her Maverick impression from Top Gun. "And /that/ is my cousin, Supergirl. She'll fit right in."
He chuckles at Laurel's remark, "Well, my mother always told me that you can control your politeness, even if you can't control much more in life."
Superman grins at Tasmia, "Runs in the family. We're a group of track-stars."
Once everyone gets in, Superman invites them to visit the assorted food stations. A flurry of Superbots mill about, tending to people left and right and taking care of their needs.
"Hey...yo, thanks for having us," Booster Gold tells Superman, showing off his mastery of 21st Century English. He smiles brightly at the Man of Steel, 'firing' a finger-gun point his way. "It was totally freaking awesome to do that thing with you when that ship crashed and stuff." He thinks for a moment, because this meeting is really important to Booster. What do you say to a legend? "I wrote a school paper on you when I was six years old." Yeah. Nailed it. Booster does a double thumbs-up and moves further into the enormous room.
Val Armorr sighs slightly. It doesn't show on his face, he has far too much self control for that. But not for the first time has he felt out of place among his fellows. Gods and godlings all, each one an army in thier own right and he is but a simple man. Skilled yes.. supremely so.. but just a man. He too watches the red/blue blue zoom in and alight close by. "Kal. A pleasure as always." He tells the big man simply, both hands up, one a fist, the other open, touching first to palm with a slight bow in the man's direction. A warriors greeting.
Last but not least comes the burst of energy that is Ayla Ranzz. Well, not literally any more, but still. She flies in low, spies Garth's hair immediately, lands and saunters up to him to stand casually by as if she's been there the whole time. The young woman looks around, offering a smile in general, but it does take a brighter light every time her eyes meet those of someone she already knows.
Coming in late is Lor-Zod. He, too, arrived flying incredibly fast, but he slows to a stop at the entrance, hovering in place as he takes in the crowd that has gathered. There's perhaps a moment of hesitation, a bit of shyness, but it lasts just a moment as he flies in a bit farther, "Hello."
The offered sense of connection provided from Booster makes Jazmin pause in her consideration of drinks and just laugh, a warm and delighted sound. "You really wrote a paper on him when you were six? That's Awesome." She waves to Ayla as the girl arrives, giving a polite nod to Val. She turns her attention back to the array of beverages on offer. "I almost don't know which to try first."
Red, knee-high boots touch down on the fancy floor of the Fortress of Solitude, Supergirl's cape swirling with the residual motion of her recent burst of flight. Her Kryptonian outfit probably isn't the most practical-looking outfit for the artic tundra, considering the bare legs and the lack of an appreciably warm-looking furs and layers and such. But she only felt these temperatures like those of a cool breeze, so if she was bothered as she snaps up bite-sized pieces of fruit to pop in her mouth, she doesn't show it.
As the others start to enter, she tries to chew a bit faster so her mouth isn't QUITE so full of food as she plasters on a model's smile ruined by the pieces of grape puffing out on of her cheeks and a large, singular wave. "Hey, guys!" She finally gets around to swallowing. "Welcome to the world's coolest clubhouse."
Crystal blue eyes sweep the assembled group as the blonde takes in the new comers. Some she recognized, ssssssort of, some were new, some she felt she SHOULD recognize. Time travel, interdimensional hop-skotch, whatever had brought them here, it was hurting her head trying to think about it. She could already hear her mother's lectures about what an awful scientist she'd make.
"So like... fitting in and stuff?" She needed to go to more parties. And this one needed music.
Releasing Kal, Garth laughs as he thumps Booster on the shoulder. "Forget that 'hero legend' stuff. He's -Kal-. That's all you need to know. Just toss back a few drinks with him. Although back then he'd just ask for -milk-. Hey! Kal, for old times' sake, how about a glass of -milk- and cookies? You've got your mom's cookies, right? I miss -those-."
And then Garth comes upon Supergirl, already busy at the table, and immediately greets her with a "Supergirl! You made it! You're... hey, what've you got there?"
"So I see, Superman," Tasmia quips lightly, giving Kal a pat on his arm before she moves in so not to block the entry way for anyone else. "This is so lovely," she speaks further, her eyes darting here and there about the Fortress while she takes in the setting. The table is noticed by her next and that is where she gravitates towards.
"Spending some time on the shore, Booster?" Superman says as he grins wide, referring to the one of note in Jersey. "I sure am glad you were there. I'm not sure how much damage would have been done without you there. That was a pretty dicey situation." At the remark over the paper, Superman can't help but almost giggle. "A paper about me? Was it good?"
Superman gives a nod and a slight bow to Val at his warrior's greeting. "It's great to see you too, Val. How have you been?" When Ayla arrives, Kal gives her a wave. "Glad you could make it Ayla. You here to keep your brother in line? Someone's gotta."
"Hey everyone, this is Lor. He's a Kryptonian too and arrived pretty recently." Superman grasps Lor-Zod's shoulder firmly and gives hit a shake, as if to tell the young one he doesn't need to be shy.
"The night is young," Superman says to Jazmin. "No one who drinks gets to leave. We've got guest rooms down the hall. No drinking and flying, especially for those going back to the US where the drinking age is 21. Ironically, I'm not precisely sure what nation owns the right to this plot of land. I kind of sort of just claimed squatter's rights a few years ago, even though I'm not sure anyone knows this place is here."
Almost as soon as Garth is finished with the sentence, Superbot8 is at his side with a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies and a large carafe of milk. "My apologies that they are not, in fact, the cookies of Mrs. Kent. But they do come from a precise rendition of the recipe," the bot responds helpfully.
Superman just chuckles at Garth and Kara before turning his attention to Tasmia, "I'm glad you like it, Tasmia. Please, help yourself to whatever you wish."
Booster grins a little lopsidedly when Garth gives him the thump. "Easy for you to say," he murmurs, although on reflection, it's not like you can speak quietly and have it go unnoticed by a Kryptonian. At least they can't read thoughts. Can they? No--he's pretty sure they can't. Booster blinks, then, before he can zone out, and he says to Jazmin, "Well sure, we had to write about our... well about people we thought were important." This has the potential to be embarassing, so Booster deals with it by smiling brightly. He tells Superman, "Yeah, -I- thought it was good, my teacher thought I was relying too much on mythology." He glances upwards at the majestic structure. "I don't think so, though."
"More or less fitting in," Laurel admits to Kara - platter held in one hand, whatever bit of food she's working on nibbling away at in the other - "Been spending time with Amazons. Diana's got a lot going for her, it's been interesting working with them. Duds are cool, too." Then she pauses, mid munch, and realizes that her MANNERS ARE HORRIBLE RIGHT NOW. Puts nosh down, extends hand. "I'm Laurel Gand - Supergirl, I presume?"
"Kal!" Ayla's greeting comes cheerfully, but she doesn't rush to hug him like she would have "her" Kal. Who's Kal is this one? It's almost impossible for her to keep track who is from when and all that. But still, he's a familiar face, and she laughs at his comment. "As if even I could keep Garth in line. I'll just try and minimize the damage," she adds with a good natured wink to the Man of Steel. Since their host is clearly trying to juggle a dozen guests (not literally yet, but the night is young) she doesn't attempt to take his time, but sidesteps toward Jazmin, letting her voice lower as she addresses one of the few people she's gotten to formally meet so far. "Wow, nice digs, huh?"
"No drinking and flying, got it." Jazmin nods to Superman and then twists her expression in a rueful expression. "Probably for the best, if only for the potential of getting lost." She finally does select a drink off the table and then steps over to speak quietly with Ayla. "Wow, it's awe inspiring. I am /so/ underdressed. How're you?"
"Nothing!" Supergirl squeaks, hiding a handful of some sweet crumbly bread things from some world she couldn't pronounce behind her back. They were HERS and she'd bite Garth's face off like an overgrown Velociraptor from that one movie before she gave him any. Slight exaggeration only, seeing as there was an entire plate of them nearby. "I told you I'd be around to lend a hand. House of El always keeps their word. Or that's what my mother always told me, anyway." Her mother, the disciplinarian. The complete opposite of her father.
Superhearing homes in on the drinking and flying and going back to the US where it's 21-only. Was Kal going to let her drink!? Well, Big Cuz had already given her de facto permission. Besides, she figures as she eyes the alcoholic beverages, she had superimmunity to toxins! Could she even get drunk? She'd never tried public intoxication before.
"Have you guys," Kara speaks to Garth and Laurel, even though she hasn't taken her eyes off the wine since first glancing at it. The alien stuff was probably more likely to do the trick than the domestic brews. "Had any troubles here on Earth? If you have, I'm pretty sure I can beat it up. Haven't spent much time on Themyscira myself. Oh, nice to meet you. Nailed it, what gave me away?" She shakes the proferred hand gently. Then a beat passes as she frowns at Garth. "You know, a gentleman would offer the girls a drink by now."
Val Armorr smiles and offers a "Well.." Then trails off, Superman's attention gone. Everyone wants a peice of the Kryptonian pie. "Well enough Kal, Well enough." He mutters, straightening. He's suddenly very glad of the Stark tech woven into the gi he's wearing, regulating his body temperature and keeping him warm despite the icy conditions that no one else seems to feel. His ears are icy though. Times like this he almost wishes he had the high collar of his old uniform back.
Seperating himself from the throng, he moves to the table, and selects some Nocturian tea, leaving them to thier own devices. He even seats himself at the table. Watching.
Taking the plate and the glass of milk and toasting Superman before taking a sip and leaving a milk moustache to go with his goatee, Garth grins, nods at Lor, and then blinks at Kara, before looking down at his glass of milk, then over at Laurel and the other girls, before pointing a finger at himself. "Uh... me...? Get..." Wait, wasn't Superman the host? But...
Ah, whatever. "What would you like to drink?" Garth asks Kara and Laurel, before wandering around to repeat the request for Jazmin, Tasmia, and... uuuugghhhh, dear sister.
Tasmia eventually slides up besides Garth, her expression screaming 'help me', almost. She hasn't really had time to let her new situtation sink in and the party already has her a bit overwhelmed. "Everything looks delicious, doesn't it," she asks him while scanning the offerings. She eventually picks a sweet something to nibble on.
"Nothing for me, thanks, though I think we need to get Superman a shipment of Silverale to go with his ... eclectic collection of everything else," Laurel says with only a hint of tease -- just a hint! "Basically, yeah. I never bothered with codenames myself, but when I started out I wore a uniform that was basically a girl version of Valor's." Just a hint of a nose-wrinkle. "Nostalgic, but definitely belongs firmly in the dawn before time."
Ayla grins at Jazmin, quick to reassure, "You look fine." She puts in an order with Garth for something 'cold and fruity and pink' just to make him get her a girly drink, and gives him her biggest smile. But her attention is right back on Jazmin, "I'm great. How are you doing? My brother still being a thorn in your side?" A flash of dazzlingly handsome catches her eye for a moment and she offers a just-loud-enough, "Hey Booster!" then looks right back to Jazmin.
Late to the party (after having accidentally flown too far north), a tall, blue-eyed blonde who bears some kind of resemblance to Supergirl -- though clearly older -- who may not really be known to most here except perhaps from snippets of news or rumor of super heroics enters the room -- likely with directions of some kind, or maybe an escort, or maybe she just followed her super hearing to where everyone else was making a racket. Either way, here is Power Girl! She takes a look around, and just kind of stands in the entrance for several seconds trying to see who -- if anyone -- she recognizes. She is unlikely to know many of them, but she may have at least HEARD of them... And some variation may have been known to them from...
...Elsewhere.
Eventually, she raises a gloved hand and announces her presence with a simple, "Hey. Sorry, I'm late." .oO(Not like anyone except Superman was expecting me.) she tacks on silently in her head. Spotting a particular color scheme being worn by another blonde, Power Girl starts navigating through the area while occasionaly glancing in Kara's direction. However, she's mostly seeking out the host of this event and will pass out greetings along the way to whomever seems to be interested in such. Still... Supergirl. Kind of weird to finally see her in-person.
"Well, Booster," Superman says, "I should note that I very rarely, if ever, use my hearing to impose in social situations. Scouts honor."
"You've spent time with Diana, Laurel? How is she? It's been ages since I've seen her."
"Any help is better than no help," Superman says to Ayla. "Heavens know I have never been able to figure out the best way to keep him in line."
Superman makes a sour face at Supergirl as if he just ate a lemonhead or something. He does not respond.
"Good, Val. I'm glad to hear it. The tea is a good choice in my opinion. I'm a big fan." His face falters a bit as he gets the feeling that Tasmia is disturbed by something. He refrains from mentioning anything not wanting to draw attention to it. Instead he gathers some spicy-tips from Ulanida and sets them on his plate, and takes a glass of juice.
Superman motions towards the large crystalline ball that sits high above the room. Just then the lights lower a bit and the suddenly the ball springs to life with images that look to have been taken with a home camera.
The video is from a while back, obviously, and shows a younger Clark, Imra, Rokk, and Garth at a farmhouse. A young Clark, maybe 15 or 16, comes down the steps dressed in a similar outfit to the one he wears today, but it's made from cloth and much too large. "You sure this doesn't look too dorky, guys?" he asks as his voice cracks just a little.
Blinking at Tasmia, who seems a bit overwhelmed, Garth laughs. "Hey Tas, come here, hold on, let me introduce you to my sister. Ayla, Tasmia. Tasmia, my -twin- sister from the future I told you about." Pausing as Ayla orders a pinky tutti frutty drink of -some- sort, Garth rolls his eyes, before picking up Jazmin's order. "I'll be back. Ayla, don't you badmouth me to the girls," he says as he goes to get the drinks.
"Eternally." Jazmin assures Ayla with a little smirk of amusment. "But it's a fairly mutual thorn in side, I think." She turns to the thorn in question as Garth comes over to offer her a drink. "Something interesting, if you're playing waitstaff at the moment. Thank you." She glances up as there's video. "Oh /my/.. this should be spectacularly interesting."
"That." Kara says as she points to the foreign white wine immediately as she's asked. Though it wasn't hard to tell. She was staring at it with all the intensity of a teenager that's close to doing the most rebellious thing she's done since accidentally overcharging Uncle Jonathan's credit card. At least she'd managed to get most of it refunded, but back then she'd been pretty embarassingly clueless about the Earth. There were still things she didn't know!
Like what a NORMAL teenager's life was like.
"What's Silverale?" Kara raises her thin, blonde eyebrows at the Laurel, quirking her lips. Hey, it had 'silver' in the name, which must mean it's good. Because, like most teenagers, Supergirl judged material goods by looks. "And does it taste good with these?" She asks as she brings her other hand from behind her back and pops one of the cruton-looking cookie-things into her mouth and practically melts with the flavor.
A sudden stir in the air causes goosebumps to roll up her back, and Kara Zor-El goes through one of those Highlander-esque moments of vertigo and confusion as she twists her head in the direction of the entrance. It's not hard to spot Power Girl, even with her white uniform blending in to the Fortress's general aesthetic. Tall, powerfully built, almost the complete opposite physically to Supergirl's own dimunitive size. There's shock on her face, and it takes her a moment to realize she's staring, and a moment longer to realize there's crumbs on her face.
"U-Um," She snaps her attention back onto Laurel so fast she might get whiplash. "What were we talking about?" She asks, as her eyes turn reluctantly towards the 'video' feed playing.
Lor-Zod makes his way over to the food table, but after his initial greeting he's perhaps still a little shy, not saying much as he listens to the conversation. Perhaps it's the fact that he's the youngest one here by at least a few years, or he's not used to such big social functions, but he's quiet as he listens to the other conversations. His attention turns curiously to the video feed when it starts, though.
"Silverale," Laurel reminds gently -- Power Girl's age and only a hair or two taller, but more Kara's build, sort of a weird mash-up -- "It's a synthetic alcohol that gets you amazingly smashed with zero hangover. The 'drunk' is short-lived too, which means you can drink it and be living it up at a party and be good to dismantle a giant robot or punch a Khund in the face in a minute or two if need be."
Superman's seen just as his expression faulters upon looking at her and Tas sighs and offers him a smile. She doesn't know she's the cause of his shift in moods, of course. She isn't a mind reader after all. It is the same smile that she gives to the young man he introduced just a bit ago. "Hello. This is one heck of a party, isn't it," she asks, trying to help him feel better even if she's not exactly in her element. Those Garth just introduced to her are also greeted with a polite nod and a mouthed 'nice to meet you'.
"Oh, gosh! No, I wouldn't expect that you would!" Booster replies to Superman in Interlac, a little chagrined that he may have given the wrong impression. Perhaps it's best to mingle now. He floats up into the air just a few inches and drifts towards Ayla, having heard her call. "This is a lot," he remarks, as he lands. "Hi, Ayla. Hey there, Jazmin. Hello...er, hi," he says to Tasmia, whom he does not know. He offers her a handshake and a smile.
"Power Girl!" Superman strides over as the blonde makes her entrance. "Go glad you could make it. Please help yourself to any of the food or drink you'd like."
Over his shoulder, the video of the young Clark-Or Superboy-is not looking very comfortable in his large pajamas. "Do you think it'll shrink?" he asks as the others laugh. "I hope it'll shrink."
Superman leans over to Garth as the hero approaches the table, "I need a flow chart to figure out who's with who. Just let me know if you need me to wingman for you like that time on the moon of Xindor."
He swallows with a hint of embarrassment as he notices Lor and realizes he needs to set a good example. "You might really like some of the pies. Some of the bots made some using Kryptonian recipes."
Picking up the drinks, Garth stops by to hand Kara a glass of wine, pausing to note, "Old enough to save the world, not old enough to drink? What a load of dirj, I tell ya," with a smirk and a wink, before he tilts his head at Laurel long enough to acknowledge that, yeah, it might not be the best idea, but -one- wouldn't hurt with supervision.
And then on to deliver the drinks for the others, accompanied by a grin, and one very very sarcastic flourish for Ayla.
Taking a sip of his own drink, Garth looks towards the video, hooting loudly. "Damn, Clarkie! Who took that video, your mom? It was -awesome- that we got you to stop wearing those sweater-vests!"
Garth pauses to add, "Wingmaning right now... probably not the best idea. Especially with Ayla standing RIGHT THERE..."
And that's when Cos arrives, dusting snow off and looking incredibly sheepish. "Hi!" he calls over the crowd, "sorry, Clark! I found the key? But I couldn't find the door so I kind of made one-- but I'll fix it, I promise!"
Ayla offers up her friendly smile to the newly introduced Tasmia, commenting, "Wow, looks like Garth found some manners somewhere. He hardly ever remembers to make introductions." The drink from said brother is accepted with a laugh. "Why thank you, brother dearest," she says sweetly to him. Which means there's probably trouble brewing. She sips from the drink, looking up at the video, her eyes turning more curious, since she missed Garth's years from roughly nine to nineteen. But a curious look slides back to him. "Wingman? What are you talking about?" She doesn't wait for his answer, looking back at the video.
"Super-drunk with none of the after-effects? Sign me up!" Kara gushes with enthusiasm, sending a sly grin her cousin's way. Though then her eyes fall back on Karen and the smile fades away a bit. It was incredibly odd, seeing her, here, of all places. And she wasn't really even sure how to feel about it. Someone that was kind-of her, but not her, but who wasn't quite an imposter, but kind of was... What exactly was she supposed to SAY to all that!?
Her body language changes, not in any overt way, but the smiles are a little more forced and her stance a little more tense. "Y'know, I just met a couple of the Legionnaire's a week ago, but if you guys ever wanted the grand tour of the world, I'd be happy to show you all the famous tourist traps." Kara mentions as she reaches behind her waist, under the cape, and pulls out a Titans communicator. "Let me just give you my contact frequencies. Those fancy rings have transmission mediums in them, right? You could try shouting, but I might not hear it so well if I'm in Fiji or something."
The blonde takes the glass from Garth as it's offered, immediately taking a sip, then licking her lips as she tries to decide if she enjoys the flavor. "Tell me about it," she exclaims as she rolls her eyes. "Nobody says a word when I jump in front of bullets, but try sneaking into a twenty-one-and-up club and I'm suddenly a 'troubled youth'." Thankfully, she doesn't flick Garth in the ear with heat vision at the mention of Martha Kent. She wants to, though. One can see it in her eyes as they narrow.
Lor-Zod brightens at the mention of Kryptonian recipes, and asks, "Really? As long as they're not Kryptonian prison rations. Fort Rozz was the only source of food in the whole Phantom Zone, I've had enough of rations to last, like, forever." Grinning now, he moves to get himself a plate.
Drink acquired via Garth's generosity and Jazmin murmurs her thanks to him. She manages to edge over to next to the food table, to be able to nibble there and watch the video and photos of people she knows now, but didn't know then. By the blinked reaction to the drink she's acquired, clearly she's not flying anywhere anytime soon.
Laurel laughs, "Hey, I know what that's like. Granted, Age of Majority in a thousand years makes it down to 16. 14 in some versions of the future I've been hearing about. Granted, if you're still around then it totally won't matter. I'll see if I can't hook you up with a bottle." The 'home movies' catch bits of her attention here and there, but none of it rings any bells in particular. She IS loving how gawky and awkward everyone in them look, though! Turning to Karen, Laurel introduces herself -- "Laurel Gand, nice to meet you...?"
Power Girl smiles and replies to Superman with, "Thanks for inviting me. Well, that's quite a spread, so I suppose it'd be rude to let it go to waste. Might as well help out." Faces... Most of them just don't click at all. A few seem to stir something in the back of her head, but really, only Superman and Supergirl are ringing any bells, and it's... Probably best she not spring her connection to Supergirl upon said girl of superness right now. She's actually not even sure if she should say anything. But just as Supergirl catches herself staring, eventually Power Girl turns her own gaze away and gives the video a curious look as she heads to the table. She does ask semi-quietly, "You don't usually have this much company here, right?"
The blonde is fairly certain nothing here is going to give her any problems if she eats it, but some of this stuff looks decidedly odd. ...Oh, well. She can take it, and what's life without a few risks? At worst she doesn't like the flavor. Grabbing up a plate, she helps herself to one of everything. Yes, there's definitely an odd sensation to being in the room with an... Alternate self. She has heard of Supergirl, but... Wait, did Superman already tell Supergirl about her? She never asked him not to. That would both simplify and complicate things if he did tell. She should ask if he told. "Did you already explain about me?" she asks casually, without naming names or giving specifics. It should be easy to figure out by the other Kryptonian. A quick head count and Power Girl tries to figure out how many Kryptonians are actually in the room. More than she suspected existed, to be sure, but it's not like she can tell who is one just by looking. "I heard 'Legionarres' mentioned too. Is this party for them? Sorry for being out of the loop. Been a bit busy."
"I'll have you know that my mom takes excellent videos. And she also picked out those sweater vests, so you'd better watch yourself, Garth." When Ranzz mentions the wingman bit, Superman eyes Ayla and just nods knowingly.
"Rokk!" Superman says before his brow furrows a bit. "What did you break?" Even as he says it, Superbot9 and 4 are off to go fix things like a pair of overbearing parents might. "Glad you could make it. It's good to see ya."
Superman shakes his head, "I'm not familiar with the cuisine at Fort Rozz, but I tried everything a few nights ago in preparation and I think you might really like it."
Superman shakes his head at Karen. "No, actually I've taken to calling it the Fortress of Solitude. I don't really have visitors. Ever, to be honest. And yeah, I thought I'd throw a party for them coming back to this section of the galaxy. I met a few of them back when-well, back when I was a kid. And don't worry. There's no loop. Just have a good time."
The video goes dark, sadly. It seems that's all there was. Then, the mood of the party begins to change as some of the trance-style dance music from one of the more fashionable sections of the universe starts to play and the crystals begin emitting different colored hues as the music gets a bit louder.
Karen pauses when she is addressed by someone new -- yet more tall blondes! -- and offers a grin. "Power Girl. Or, uh..." She considers whether to stop there or not. But then her risk-taking attitude for the night causes her to just not overthink it. "...Also known as Kara Zor-L at one point. But that's a long story, and it sounds similar enough to someone else's name in the room that it's better not to confuse people." Pause. "Nice to meet you, Laurel."
Tasmia discretely slips inrto a corner to watch everyone enjoy themselves, very obviously enjoying herself as well now that her initial nervousness has passed.
"Skeets," Booster quietly says, then glances around, because his valet droid is not there. "Er..."
Skeets is elsewhere, curiously following various SuperBots around, probably trying to find a robot friend.
"...okay." Booster glances at the spread of food and drink with some misgivings. It all looks beautiful, which means it looks nothing like the food he grew up eating. Some of it still seems animal-shaped, too, which is -really- something he is not used to.
Jazmin points to one of those animal shaped things as she watches Booster consider it. "Try that. It's.. really interesting. Sweet but not, but savoury. It's just good." She is, however, taking more sips from her drink than nibbling. "Or that other thing, the weird coloured one. Just don't look at it when you're eating it."
"Alternate dimension or timeline versions of each-other? Clones?" Laurel asks, looking between Karen and Kara and for all the world looking like this is an /utterly normal conversation./ "There were younger versions of all of us in the future I'm from - we weren't sure if they were clones or time-looped or whatever. Very weird, but eventually you just sort of ... get on with being yourself and not worry so much about other selves." A shrug, "Worked for me, anyway."
Nodding quietly at Kal so that he does -not- have to explain to his twin sister from the future about -what- Superman, Bouncing Boy and Lightning Lad did on -that- planet with the Amazon Women, Garth settles into laughing at the picture like an overgrown frat boy, taking a moment to hold his hands up in self-defense at Kara, before nudging Jazmin. "Man, we looked so young, didn't we?"
There is *totally* a bro-hug (complete with back-clapping) headed Superman's way, carried on the intentions of Rokk Krinn. He does, admittedly, look relieved when the Superbots fly off to fix the 'door' he made in the tundra. "Just some ceiling," he answers cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late, man. I lost track of time. And holy shinola, this is a really happening get-together you've got going on! Sets an impressive bar-- hope we can match it for Klordny. And, uh." The man glances over to the bar, and then at the various people that alcohol really shouldn't be making redfaced that are getting a little redfaced. "You're making everyone stay until they're sober, right?"
Ayla, being a great joiner-in, sidles over alongside Jazmin and Booster, peering at the different foods. Some of them look familiar! The first item Jazmin points out is good enough for her, so Ayla gives it a try, popping it in her mouth. There's a look of consideration on her face as she chews, trying to decide if she likes it. She finally decides that she does, and points to something that looks vaguely like a sea urchin. "What's that?" she asks dubiously of anyone who cares to answer.
"Sixteen? That must be nice." Kara says absently as she shoots another look over her shoulder towards her alternate-dimensional self. More brain hurty. Shouldn't they be unable to exist in the same place at the same time or something? She wasn't clear on Power Girl's exact origins, except that when she first showed up, everyone thought SHE was Kal's cousin. Maybe she was a clone like Superboy.
And then Laurel starts talking to her. SO not supposed to happen, judging by Kara's suddenly alarmed expression, evidenced by eyes that were too wide and body language that was too rigid. She just glances at Laurel, then at Karen. Laurel, Karen, Laurel, Karen. This was a meeting she'd hoped she'd be more prepared for, like maybe when her and her other-worldly self were alone!
Her eyebrows raise at the mention of a 'Kara Zor-L'. "Uh, yeah. It's a little more complicated for me," She says to the Legionnaire, while looking at Power Girl. "I don't really meet someone who was thought to be... well, me, very often." Like ever. The shorter blonde sucks in a breath and lets it out like she's steeling herself for something. "I was hoping we'd have the chance to talk sometime. Just- well- No time like the present, I guess!" She blurts out with a nervous little laugh, fidgeting with her fingers near her midsection.
She takes a drink of liquor as an excuse to not talk for a moment.
Booster leans sideways towards Jazmin slightly, and says very quietly, "I think that one's a creature, though." After a thoughtful pause, he admits, "I'm not sure I'm up to eating creatures yet, at least not in public. I just don't want to be rude." He watches Ayla sample things, as if she were a scientist conducting an experiment. Well, she survived the process, and Superman wouldn't poison his guests. "It might be a hedgehog," he then hazards, when asked about the sea urchin looking creature.
Jazmin leans back in to Booster at his quiet murmur and offers her take on the whole 'creature' issue. "That's why you close your eyes. Then you can't see it looking at you and you forget until you just like the taste." She reaches for something safely vegetarian and offers it to Booster. "Try this then."
Power Girl nods. "Yeah, something like that. Alternate universe... Though for me, this one is kind of the alternate one." When Kara joins in, Karen runs a free hand through her hair as she deftly flicks some kind of fried or grilled or maybe-that's-how-it-always-looks thing from the plate into her mouth with her thumb. Then she just decides to repeat, "It's a long story. If you'd rather talk privately, we can wait." She then leans over and stage-whispers conspiratorily to Supergirl at a volume that Laurel can probably hear just fine, "Don't tell anyone, but I actually was nervous about meeting you, just incase the universe exploded when we saw each other or something. Good thing that hunch was wrong, huh?" Then she winks and straightens up.
The truth is she actually was kind of nervous, but not because of any explody thingy. That's totally science-fiction! ...Like time-travel, alternate universes, and aliens. "Meeting your younger selves in the future? And you're in 'the past' now and not young? And you didn't remember meeting your older selves when you were younger?" Karen thinks that over for a few seconds then says, "Yeah, I hate time travel." She pops some kind of crumbly whatsit in her mouth.
Ayla suppresses a shudder at the thought of food looking at her, and wrinkles her nose at Booster's supposition. "Hedgehog? People here eat hedgehogs?" That's even more off-putting than a sea urchin. She glances over to Superman, wondering if this is some kind of test. But it's a social situation, it would be silly to have tests. Still, she'll stay clear of that. She chooses instead to down half of her drink, because the fruitiness outweighs the alcohol content. Although, since Garth got it for her, it's likely a Shirley Temple.
Superman shakes his head slowly and soberly. "It's not hedgehog. Promise. And I'm contractually comitted to not lying."
"Well, like I said, we dunno if they were clones or if WE were clones or if there was some sort of weird time-loop or something... I mean, honestly?" Laurel looks between the 'Two Karas' just to make sure they're still with her, "Time re-set on us at least twice, maybe three times in about two years, so it got so hard to keep anything totally straight we just stopped bothering. The younger versions of us took on new codenames and uniforms to differentiate themselves from us older versions, and we all called it a day and went forward from there. Overthinking things just leads to trouble sometimes." She finishes up her Ma Kent-alike cookies, and goes on for a bit.
"I mean, if you don't mind butting-in advice, you're both still you. You're even already visually not the same as each other, so I don't *think* you've got anything to worry about. Try not to be too hard on each other, or live up to each other's examples or whatever, just be yourselves. Whoever they are."
"I'm not sure. They might. I've never actually seen a hedgehog," Booster admits to Ayla, although he sounds faintly alarmed now. Superman's assurance is calming, at least. He accepts the tidbit from Jazmin with the sort of trust that could get him into a lot of trouble if he were not in a crowd of upstanding people, especially since he just pops it into his mouth without question. After some consideration, he says, "Everything in this century sure has a lot of flavor." That is probably a compliment.
It was actually a Robin Scherbatsky cocktail, and that was only because Garth was in a 'screw it, Ayla can live with it' mood.
Reaching over to poke at the sea urchin, Garth asks calmly, "Clarkie...? Why are you serving us something that looks like a hairball a porcupine coughed up?"
Category:Log