2013.07.20 - Authorization

Jocelyn had been acting a little bit odd the last couple days. It wasn't obvious to most people, though her body language had been giving away clues that Something Was Up. A little extra twitch here, a look over her shoulder there, an odd comment made that caused her to tense up in the cafeteria, things like that. Of course, she was actually doing something that was somewhat of a first for her. No, it wasn't that she was going to face off against some supervillain or even attempt cooking something more complicated than pancakes.
Jocelyn had left Xavier's in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, and had been walking towards the Bronx. There was a building she was heading towards. It was a police storage building, one where they kept a variety of artifacts and criminal evidence for the vast number of crimes that occur in the city. Jocelyn was dressed casually today, though she'd brought a backpack along with her. The backpack was mostly empty, judging by the shape it took and general tendency to squish if she bumped up against something with her back. She had been rather lost in her thoughts today, and slowly growing more tense. Would this work? She wasn't quite sure.
Arriving at the building, Jocelyn pauses, not quite going inside yet. It was one of those old brick buildings, with a set of large red double doors and the NYPD logo placed on the wall above the doors.
He'd noticed Jocelyn's odd body language over the last few days, but as it wasn't any of his business, Doug Ramsey simply hadn't inquired too deeply. Jocelyn had graduated, at the least, from the classes, and Doug'd chalked it up to jitters about finding a new school. 
On his way back from the latest extortion ... er, financial trades, Doug's decision to take a tour through New York City in order to see if he could find -anything- useful on the way comes up with a familiar tall figure. 
"Jocelyn?" Doug calls out, walking quickly to close the gap before the redheaded girl entered the building.
It takes Jocelyn a couple seconds to process the fact that Doug called out to her, having not noticed him before. And then there is an unexpected complication! Jocleyn almost startles, instead just twitching a bit as she turns to face Doug. "Oh! H-Hey there, Doug," Jocelyn says, greeting the man with a wave. She turns her focus now on the approaching X-Man. "How're you doing?" the teenager inquires. She's perfectly glad to see the guy, as it offers a little bit of a distraction to why she'd come all the way out here on a Friday afternoon. She had to wonder what some of the teachers did to keep busy when it was summer. It was still slightly weird to think of her teachers as having hobbies and lives outside the school. Even if the school was the X-Mansion.
"Oh, doing pretty well." He holds up a bag of computer hardware, before nodding at her. "You doing okay?" he inquires, looking up towards the building, a curious glance at the building. Seeing it registered as a NYPD building, the young blond glances back towards Jocelyn. "Working for the police now, Joce?" he grins, a teasing tone in his voice. "Haven't you seen Police Academy? You'll fit right in." 
"No, no, not working for the police," Jocelyn says with a slightly nervous laugh. "I see you found some more nuts and bolts for your project," the teen comments. Jocelyn glances back at the building, then over at Doug. "Oh, I'm mostly fine. I just have to do a pick-up, and I'm not actually all that used to walking into a police building. At least, not in a way that isn't adversarial".
The teen shifts slightly. This was territory she wasn't entirely comfortable in at all. She smirks at the comment. "No, but I've at least heard enough about the movie to roll my eyes, Doug," Jocelyn adds.
"Oh. Well, if you want moral support, I'm happy to join you," Doug says, smiling. Certainly the girl looked like she could use some bolstering and company.
The smile fades a moment later. "Wait, what are you going in there to pick up that you're so nervous about?" Bringing a finger to his lips, Doug rubs them in thought. "If you're not going in there for some... adversial purpose, what's the matter?" 
"It's...". Jocelyn pauses, considering. "It isn't what I'm picking up. I grew up with the police as my enemy, Doug. You know enough about how I grew up, and I'm pretty used to the police being not exactly the most ethical sorts". Jocelyn shrugs a little. "If you don't mind going in with me, sure," Jocelyn decides after a moment. "It's something I need for a mission". Which is all she's going to be willing to say out here. While she's keeping her voice down, who knows who might walk by?
Jocelyn is then starting to move, and she starts forward towards the doors of the building, glancing over towards Doug to see if he's coming or not.
"Well then, it can't be that bad." Doug, unlike Jocelyn, had a fair bit more confidence in the police. It helped that he could read people, though, and that most police officers generally weren't looking for confrontation with a young blonde blue-eyed man. 
Walking quickly over to the door, Doug opens it up, holding it by. "Mission?" he whispers quietly as Jocelyn passes by in, before the young blonde follows. 
"Very hush-hush," Jocelyn tells Doug. "Or potential mission. More like preparation. Trust me on this one".
Though it isn't like Jocelyn is giving Doug much of a chance to get an explanation. She enters the building. Inside is a plain vanilla room with a single desk and a police officer sitting at the desk. He looks rather bored, even when they arrive, though he does put the newspaper he's reading down on the desk.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asks. "If you're looking for the main station...".
Jocelyn shakes her head at the man and slowly reaches into a side pocket of her backpack. She withdraws a single envelope and slides it across the desk. "I'm here to request Item YAW-76013, per the authorization here". She did have a bit more confidence here with Doug. Doug used to be an agent, right? Maybe that's why.
The officer takes the envelope and opens it up. His eyes widen just a touch as he reads, then looks over at the girl. "I'll have to double-check this. One moment". And the man disappears into the back.
Following Jocelyn into the station, Doug nods. He, of course, wasn't terribly bothered being in the station. An ex-agent of SHIELD, this was something he'd been used to. Still, curiousity compels him to try and sneak a better look at the envelope. What authorization was she gaining this from? 
It's tough to see much of the envelope. Still, there is an eagle seal on the back of the envelope that Doug will get a glimpse of. Some sort of Federal level approval, but which one it was, Doug won't quite be able to get a good look at.
Jocelyn glances over at him, but doesn't speak right away. She looks like she is going to explain something when the man comes back. He is carrying a black circular box that appears to be made of steel.
"Alright. I just need the authorization code from this letter and the name of the one you are representing," the officer says.
Jocelyn nods to him. "GB7-5YOL. I'm representing FlareBright".
The man nods and hands the box over to Jocelyn, as well as putting the letter back in the envelope and giving it to her.
Both items are put into her backpack, and Jocelyn nods to him. "Thank you". A look to Doug. "Shall we?" And she'll lead the way out of the building, if not held up.
Wasn't FlareBright the name that Jocelyn had been granted by Thor? She'd mentioned a few times, and the young man starts connecting -some- mental dots. Thor, Avengers... that'd probably explain the authorization. But... 
"I don't suppose it's a good idea to ask why the police has something of -yours-, is it?" Doug asks as he walks along outside the building, having waited till they'd exited to speak. 
"Who said it was something of mine?" Jocelyn comments. "It's something I requested. Using that name, of course. Keeps the other name out of the picture," Jocelyn explains. "It won't be something I can keep forever. But, well, you read Kwabena's report from his trip. This should be something that can be used when we find this guy".
Jocelyn shrugs. "As for how I got it, which I know you're wondering, umm...". Pause. "You're going to find out anyway. Do you remember seeing on the Internet all those attacks by that Young Master's group? I ended up helping the Young Allies out with it a couple of times. Turns out that all of us involved are being, uhh, given a medal. Just found out about this the other day. Don't have to attend if I don't want to, but I figured I'd make use of some useful temporary connections. And it's also why I used that name".
Hey, when life gives you an opportunity...
"Yes, I did, and... hey, congratulations, then! Yeah, Shift's been getting himself into deeper and deeper stuff." Now Doug frowns. "I had to leave that life, it really wasn't for me." 
Bringing his hand to pat Jocelyn's back, the young mutant nods. "Do you feel like it's the life for you? If so... be careful, okay?" 
"I worry about Shift. He's not been the same since he got back. There's something he's holding back, and he was doing a worse job of it than I was just a bit ago," Jocelyn explains. "Well, at least to me, but we come from similar lives. We can read each other almost as well as you can read people". It was a shared thing.
"Well, it's more a matter of seeing something happening and being able to do something about it". Jocelyn shrugs. "I mean, that's what we do with the X's in a lot of ways, be it kids or adult flavored". She shrugs at that. "I made that decision when I started training under you, Doug. I knew what I was getting into. Though I didn't expect to end up meeting all the people I've met". Another shrug. "At the very least, I know a lot of people in a lot of organizations now if stuff goes south".
"Yeah. That girl he brought back..." Doug sighs, nodding. Moving on along, the young man considers. This conversation wasn't going to wait till they got home, but he could certainly speak of it obliquely enough. "I'm not sure, but I think he's got something going on, and it's not going to involve all of us. But... ahhh, it's his lookout - if he wanted us involved, he would. This is probably a special situation for him." 
Nudging Jocelyn, the young man nods. "And what you don't, I will." 
In truth, Jocelyn was referring to something else. But that was alright. Jocelyn just nods to that. "Most likely," she agrees with Doug. It was hard to explain things in public. Ah well. It happens. She'd explain some of this stuff later.
"Anyway, I should get this back home. You on your way there too?" Jocelyn asks. She also pulls her smartphone out and types out a quick message, sending it off as she speaks to Doug.
Shift -was- up to a lot of things, and what was on Doug's mind was what the Ghana native had last asked of him. Plans shifted all the time, and keeping up with them... well, not the easiest of things...
"Yes," Doug replies. 
And once they'd stepped into the Xavier Mansion, after a train ride home, the young blonde goes to find Jocelyn once more... 
The backpack had been stowed away somewhere -safe-. That didn't need explaining, did it? Safe was good. The girl isn't immediately findable, as she'd excused herself, though she isn't too hard to find a bit later. She's stepping out of the Danger Room for a scheduled training session. Nothing fancy really, just the usual stuff that they all did at some point or another. Spotting Doug, she waves at him. "Hey Doug. Long time, no see. I didn't see you signed up for the slot after mine," the teenager points out.
"Funny, I could have sworn I saw you only yesterday," Doug rejoins, as he steps into the Danger Room. "No, just wanted to talk away from prying ears." Reaching out, the young man hits the mute button for the room, making it relatively soundproof, before looking back towards Jocelyn. "So what -is- going on?" 
"About what? The package?" There's a pause. Jocelyn considers. "It's being kept quiet for the moment, Doug. I'd rather not spread around what it is I acquired. Shift knows, and he's the only one, as I ran this idea past him initially. It's dangerous, and not something that, if someone were captured at some point, we'd want them revealing. Nor is it something I can keep forever".
"I see." Doug muses quietly, before asking, "Is this something that could blow up in the X-Men's faces? Because if it is..." The tone in it implies, quite simply, that he would be talking to Scott or Jean or the Professor. 
"No. It won't," Jocelyn assures Doug. "If anything, it'll blow up in my face," the teen says. Shift had just told her to be safe with it. "I needed to acquire it first to see if it was something we wanted to use. I need to talk with Mr. Summers still about it," she explains. "Simply put, you know that he ran into someone who could nullify powers. One of the Young Masters had a device that could do the same thing. I was the proud receipient of getting shot in the face with it, followed by getting slammed through a van".
Jocelyn pauses. "By the way, that's a crappy way to learn how to use your healing powers, just as an aside," she adds with a small grin.
"Anyway. We captured her, and her gear had been stowed. That's what I acquired. It would let us even the playing field against this Inhibitor".
Frowning, Doug asks, "You want to nullify a nullifier?" The young man considers the situation, before tilting his head. "How did you manage to use your healing powers if that gun could nullify powers? Or does it only work on an active power?"
"Limited range. Once I was knocked into the van, I was outside it's field of influence," Jocelyn explains. "If the Inhibitor is using his powers against us, and we turn his powers off for brief time, then that will give us an advantage". That was the thinking, at the very least. "Like I said. I still need to talk to Mr. Summers about it now that I was able to acquire it. But it's use is very similar to how I use my powers, so while it requires practice, it isn't a huge leap for me". The teen shrugs at that. "And it isn't so much a gun as...well, here".
Jocelyn pulls out her smartphone and pulls up her favorites. She finds the Youtube video that shows Disruptor and the other Young Masters fighting. It's got a great shot of a masked Jocelyn getting shot back into the van. "More like integrated gauntlets on the costume".
Pondering the video, Doug frowns. "If you're going to do that, you may want to make sure the inhibitor is set up so that only you can use it. Otherwise, there's too good a chance of it being used against you if they get ahold of it." 
Shaking his head, Doug looks back towards Jocelyn. "A sort of safety, no? How about something like a handprint recognizer in the handle?" 
"It doesn't work if you're not in the costume," Jocelyn says. "It's fully integrated into it. Believe me, I tried". She wrinkles her nose at the thought. "I fully plan to be borrowing one of the image inducers if this device becomes necessary. Though getting something like that added in would be a reasonable idea," Jocelyn agrees.
"So you have to wear -that- costume?" Doug blinks, eyes shifting from the Disruptor to Jocelyn, trying to get a gauge on how that would fit her. "Damn, it might not be necessary. At least it's not keyed into the DNA or something, but if the gauntlets works only with the costume..." 
"Yeah. I'm working altering it," Jocelyn offers. "Like I said. Image Inducor". Because she really wasn't interested in showing off in quite that way. "The things we do," Jocelyn offers to Doug with a small shake of her head and grin. "I'm rather glad it wasn't keyed to DNA. And it may not even be necessary to use it, but frankly, I'd rather have the option available to us".
Smirking a bit, Doug nods. "Well then... if you need help altering that, we'll get it done. When you're done here..." Doug starts to turn towards the Danger Room exit, before pausing at the door. A grin crosses his face, as he taps a few buttons, punches in a code, and changes the program. "I'll see you." And then he got out, -before- the 'Friendship is Magic' program kicked in. 
There's a brief glare as Jocelyn just sighs when that program starts. "I wonder if it fails if I shoot all the creatures," Jocelyn mutters as she goes to deal with the simulation.
Category:Log