Open Communications

Kayliah comes home, looking a bit more ragged than usual. One half of it was due to the amount of exhaustion from holding the Horseman within intangible space and doing so for three to four hours while Rodeo prepared a form of containment for them. Another half from the emotional exhaustion. Something earlier during the encounter made her a bit more frustrated.
At first, she was okay with the fact that everyone had secrets. It was mostly out of respect, and it's okay to hide things. However, lately, she has been encountering people that just…in short terms, made her furious.
Honestly, she had no confirmation that Haze was her uncle Lance, or the fact that he was a thing at all. Something or someone claiming that they are family, but never were around to be family. It was the first time the mask of calmness around Geist broke and for good reason. She felt betrayed by everything she believed. 
Why did a squirrel just give her a weird message to be around at the correct time? Why did that guy contact her, but couldn’t be clear on what information? Whoever they are, they are not a part of NEMESIS. 
The most frustrating part was that she understood why they couldn’t be direct with her, as she lived with her father. Her sister was a bigger surprise. She knew something was up the moment that her sister infiltrated a place that she actually works for. It was fun, at first. Each of them feigned ignorance at each other’s little secrets, but those times seem to have ran out. 
Kayliah went into the kitchen, grabbing a few items to cook something quick and easy before going to bed. She assumed Layla was either busy, asleep or at work. Part of her wanted to storm in and demand answers. However, the growl in her stomach objected to that idea.
Just as Kaliyah was finished preparing her food, Layla made her presence known with a quiet “hey”. She didn’t wait for an answer before adding “I know we’ve agreed not to have serious conversations on empty stomachs but I don’t think there’s going to be a better time… You don’t have a knife on you, right?” She leaned forward to try and spot whatever might be in Kaliyah’s hand at the moment. 
Kaliyah chuckled, hiding the timorous thoughts with her poker face, “Even if I did, you would be able to handle such a thing. You are a genius.” She wasn’t quite looking at Layla quite yet, setting down the butter knife aside after throwing the crusts away. 
The girl took her pressed sandwich, which smelled deeply of cheese, bacon and baked chicken among other things and walked past Layla to the bar counter of their kitchen setup. She sat down, not making very obvious signs to join her.
Layla grabbed a cup from a nearby cabinet and helped herself to some water. She took in a deep breath as the water filled the cup and let the breath out a few moments after the glass was full. She took a sip and turned to join Kaliyah at the bar counter - though on the other side with no seats.
She stared at Kaliyah - the uncertainty of where to start uncharacteristically written all over her face - but suddenly blurted out, “Let’s start from the beginning: what do we know?” Her face shifted to a more serious expression as she began to rattle things off. “I know you’re Geist. I know this is because a 7th class Omni-Ethereal Quasimorph Being (also known as a Phasmorph) is a part of you. I know this Phasmorph came from NEMESIS. I know NEMESIS is after you because of this. I’ve known your Geist for some time now - since I hacked into your comms and offered you a deal to handle the Guiding Light. By extension, I now know you know I’ve been involved with all that.” 
Layla takes another sip of water, staring at (perhaps through) Kaliyah as her professional demeanor suddenly slips back off and she looks away.
“I guess I wasn’t too far off. A little mad that you tranq one of my friends at Big Team,” Kaliyah spoke, but she wasn’t completely sincere
about the angry part.
“I knew you did work outside of your usual jobs, even the white hat cover you had,” Kaliyah began opening up a little, “I figured at first they approached you the same way they did with me after father…” She went silent, unsure on how to word it for the moment, “disappeared. I was worried that if you found out about Phanty, you would try to take them…and I wouldn’t allow it.”
“However, you were doing something strange for someone who worked at that agency. Inside a restricted server room, in which you could have access easily without the extra ‘precaution’, Then there were strange contacts I was getting that weren't from you, but they are unclear on who they stand for.” 
Kaliyah opened her mouth to speak once more, but closed it immediately. She looked at Layla, almost sizing them and gauging their reaction to her view on the truth.
Layla set her glass of water down on the counter and said “I’ll be completely honest with you: I think you did the right thing keeping it from me. I’m working for NEMESIS after all and not even I think they have your best interests in mind. From what I’ve gathered through all my snooping, whatever they had… ‘Phanty’ for, it was to look into Father’s dealings with an old org he ran called SPECTRE. I don’t have a whole picture yet but it seems to deal with space? And there were plenty of members but many of the records I can find were scrubbed or nonexistent.
“But I want you to believe me when I say I’m working for myself. No one else. I’m trying to stay ahead of NEMESIS or Guiding Light or whoever the hell thinks they can use the Voss family as pawns. Father left us with no clear path forward and I just-”
Layla slammed her fist into the wall beside her. She’d bitten her lip from saying anymore. She took another sip of water and continued.
“I just wanted to be in the know for once. I had… seen your involvement as just another complication of the job, not thinking that you had your own reasons.”
“Why else? I want to find out what happened as much as you do. Especially when he was so calm when he talked to me last.”
Kaliyah paused for a moment, clutching the fist. It was something she never told her sister about. Around the same time, Phantasm, who kept their distance between the sisters, hovered over Kaliyah. A single transparent tendril had rubbed against Kaliyah’s head in an attempt to comfort her.
“He treated whatever he was going as if it was another job. That he was going to come back…usually, he does. Always did. We were both used to it.” Something clear dropped on her plate next to her sandwich, “He knew about Phantasm…” 
Layla opted to walk around to Kaliyah instead of replying. She draped her arms on Kaliyah’s shoulders and gave her sister a hug. After a moment, Layla said softly, “We’re just a family of nosy know-it-alls, I guess. Pretending we have it all figured out while desperately ignoring the ones that need to be kept in the loop.” She gave Kaliyah one final squeeze before backing away.
“I think Father had a plan… but considering we’re having so much trouble now, I don’t think that plan’s working out as well as he hoped…” Layla then took the seat next to Kaliyah and faced her. “Guess it’s time we work this out together?” 
“I guess that’s the case. Ms. Spy Hater.” Kaliyah chuckled, despite the tears running down her face, “I guess, that’s not much of the case now. You’re just as bad as him now.”
Phantasm chittered in agreement. At the time, it had made itself visible, giving snarky remarks at Layla in its own language. Its mannerism resembled a child that wasn’t getting enough attention until Kaliyah put a hand on top of its head. 
Kaliyah took a moment to grab a napkin from the holder to dry her face, using the moment to scold Phanty for being a brat while composing herself. 
“So should we start with what we both know? I know that NEMESIS scouted me a few weeks after dad vanished. I was interested in my dad’s work, so at first, I just wanted to take advantage of the training. You were doing clerical work with them before then. At that time, I hadn’t created a hero identity.” 
“If NEMESIS wanted more information on what Dad was doing, keeping us close was their best bet. While taking on his work for Octal, it seemed like a no-brainer to take on his share of NEMESIS work too. I’m sure you can imagine the higher-ups weren’t too happy I didn’t just stick to classes like you did.
“Though evidently you didn't stick to classes!” Layla walked around to the other side of the counter again, retrieving her water. “I’m still not sure if anyone in NEMESIS knew that Phanty was in your care before you started your public outings. Any leads on that?” 
“Well, I did still attend as Kaliyah so I kept hearing some things,” The girl gave a sheepish grin in response, “Mostly the Spymaster of Research, whatever her name was, inquired about Geist’s powers after saving her from a kidnapping. They even had the spy students on notice if they spotted me.”
A sigh escaped her mouth as she conceded to some recklessness by making an appearance as a hero, “Look, I was going through two years without nothing being opened up to me. No certain answers. No one reached out to me. Add that with the fact that the agency expectations and high appraisal of my talent was suffocating. I had to do something to take that pressure away.” Kaliyah looked away from Layla for a moment before continuing, “I admit that there was also a personal reason that…maybe I wanted to just have a moment where it was forgivable to be a teenager and a hero. Hanging out in a zoo and stopping some mad nutjob from turning patrons into animals (though karate throwing a lion might have been a bit much), going to a concert, using sleight of hand and powers to help a friend with a bunch of mean girls, learning about and helping out with Big Team’s personal problems including an entity that wants to digitize all information which might include the world… Having Geist allowed me to discover all sorts of things that I could do and things I never knew that existed. Things that my old man would encourage me to learn and discover. I imagine that if he was with us, he would probably encourage me despite you or his coworker’s dismay at the danger.”
The girl paused, realizing that she was going off-topic, “Sorry, seems that NEMESIS only suspects that Geist might have Phanty, but no confirmation. I have been very careful to make sure they don’t have any proof or clear details on my powers. I broke one of their devices they were using to bait and reveal me. Their attempts to capture me have slowed down lately, so I just laying low hoping one of the facility members would let something slip.”
“They’ll start connecting the dots eventually. We just need to be ready when they do. So while we figure out what they’re really after, you need to keep that low profile low for as long as you can.
“I have to admit, you’re pretty good at being the hero. You and Phanty. But all your exploits are going to draw the wrong set of eyes on you eventually. You know I’ve got your back, especially now that we’re talking openly about all this… Can you say the same for your team? Are they going to do right by you when push comes to shove?” Layla held eye contact with Kaliyah - this wasn’t a rhetorical question. This was a genuine request for an honest answer. 
Kaliyah went quiet, thinking back on some of the past interactions. She had found Layla’s stare unnerving, but that hardly made her nervous as she answered,“I think they might have my back. I have met and become acquainted with most of them and they’re good people, Layla. You know me, I don’t say something like that lightly.”
“In all honesty, I’m more sure about them than I am with SPECTRE lately. I know they mean well, but…I secretly wished they were more clear to me.” She made a gesture to Layla as if saying, ‘let me finish.’ “Generator seems nice, despite the quirkiness. Haze or Uncle Lance, if he’s part of them, I’m not so sure about. I just had a bad feeling or impression when we first met. If he was really family, dad would have punched him in the face for how he acted. I… just can’t find it in me to trust him. He claims to be family but if he was, they would try to hint that he was around or come when dad can’t be.”
Thinking about that encounter displayed an amount of frustration on the usually composed Kaliyah, which was obvious toward her older sister, “There was one thing they said that I wonder about the possibility. Something about Father might be lost between time, space, and dimension. . .Naturally I would disbelieve it, but I think there is a possibility.” Kaliyah was uncertain whether or not to add the statement that she might be capable of doing such travels. 
Layla listened intently. As Kaliyah finished, she pulled out her phone and gestured her hand over the screen. A moment later, Kaliyah’s phone buzzed. “Trust your gut. I just sent you all the information I could find about Lance. He’s a dead man walking, apparently - ‘died’ before you were born, boring records that lead to dead ends, no real connection to us outside of some choice photos from Dad’s files. So if he’s really who he says, he isn’t a spy like you and I, leading a double-life. The things he’s meant to do would prevent him from leading a normal life and if that isn’t a red flag-”
Something on Layla’s phone made her pause. She looked up at Kaliyah again, finally taking in how ragged she looked. “Any final thoughts? It’s pretty late and you look like you fell out of a tree.”
Kaliyah wanted to keep talking like this. It was the feeling of relief and sentiment that she missed for a long time. The information on Lance/Haze hardly matter at the time, though she would make a personal note to peruse through them later on. She wanted to speak out in protest, but her body was simply not having any of it, “I guess being incorporeal for over four hours trying to keep unnatural things like Famine from taking over a building and everything around it. It took a lot out of me.”
She looked at her untouched sandwich, sighing that it had become cold from talking for a long time. It wouldn’t make it any less tasty, and nothing that a moment in the toaster oven can’t fix. Kaliyah did just that, getting up to reheat her dinner in the kitchen, “Hey sis? Since we’re open with each other. Did you ever manage to get inside?” 
“Inside what?” It only took a moment for Layla to pick up on what her sister was implying. “Ah, well, no. This sounds ridiculous saying it out loud but getting in felt like admitting he was gone, at least to me. Do don’t mean to-”
“No, it’s fine. Think he closed for reason. Do not know why.” The two sisters looked at Phastasm, who actually spoke up. “Even I cannot go in. Tried alone. Strange wavelength. Unsure. No feel threat. Just Uncertainty. Curious.”
Kaliyah looked bewildered at Phantasm’s words, as if they read her thoughts about considering using her abilities to go in to find clues. Her hand went over her braids, rustling them, “Gah Dad! Now you’re compelling me to find out when you do that! Like leaving all that stuff in your office that I used to make my suit wasn’t enough?” Kaliyah went quiet, sighing, “I guess we both got to take it for what it really is…”
Layla sighed. She knew once the words came out of her sister’s mouth, there was no turning her back. 
“...A challenge.”
Category:Scenes