December 31, 2015:
Fairchild, Captain Marvel and Supergirl with geekery and fun.
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
This log continues from Coolant Systems.
Kara sort of follows Caitlin's explanation of the Kessle Run. But she still looks a little lost. And her cheeks redden a bit when the question of whether she has seen 'The Movie' is asked. "Ummm…no," she replies with a bit of shyness. "In fact…I don't think I've seen any of the films." Hey, it's not like she grew up on Earth… "There's several movies, right?" Oracle's elaboration of Sam's idea gets some nodding. "Well, I'm sure Sam and the others know what they're doing." Using birds as an alarm system for an alien invasion still has her scratching her head, though.
Jericho steps back from the Valmorra and closes the main hatch. There's more work to be done, clearly but it can't be done yet. The little launch and landing area outside the Halls of Justice doesn't usually see this much traffic. A certain glow eyed hacker had been working on Hawkgirl's ship which has recently decided that overheating like a penguin on Mercury is just the thing to do. Not too far from him there's a landed Javelin transport - League Standard - that had up until recently been hauling a passel of pidgeons.
You can tell if you look inside. But really, don't.
Falcon has since departed with those and Jericho can only hope he and Oracle get to test his idea for using them as an alarm system before Streaky finds them. Which will, he suspects, be the end of that. Not from away are Caitlin Fairchild and Kara, who have apparently been talking tech, birds and history with the hacker and the glowing green avatar of Oracle on the comm. Speaking of whom…
"Alright. Well nothing more I can do with this thing. I'm going to catch some lunch and then I have a few things of my own need looking in on. Thanks for your help, both of you. Oracle, if I could have a word with you before I'm out…" The hacker picks up his comm, clearly intending to carry on this conversation elsewhere.
Caitlin makes a Beeker-ish noise, and almost spit-takes her sandwhich on the floor. "You… I … Star Wars… ?!" She double-takes at Kara, then grabs her friend's upper arm urgently. "Movie. Marathon." she tells the blonde, flatly. "We're gonna watch 'em all in the Machete order, and OH MY GOD THE BIG REVEAL!" she squeals. "And I've got the rips from Laserdisc, so it's HD but none of that stupid 'Re-Release Special Edition' editing crap. Because HAN SHOT FIRST!" She stamps a foot on the ground and the heavily reinforced metal floor underfoot vibrates palpably.
Caitlin immediately looks sheepish. "Uh… er, sorry."
She looks up at Jericho and waves. "Okay, Jericho. Thanks for considering my idea," she tells him, with real gratitude. "And if you need an extra greasemonkey, lemme know?"
Oracle catches the note of bewilderment in Kara's voice. That will soon work itself out as the blonde returns to the fold.
"Thank you again, Caitlin and Kara, you certainly gave us food for thought."
With the talk now on Movies … not something the clocktower bound redhead had much time for herself … she begins to focus on yet another of her projects and then Jericho asks for more of her time. "Certainly, Jericho. Ladies, I'm only a call away." Or always watching … "Oracle out."
The avatar in the hangar blinks out. She'll speak with Jericho on his comm.
"Control, this is Captain Marvel. Situation is resolved, and I am inbound. Launching from the satellite in fifteen seconds once the approach window lines up. Please confirm open corridor inbound." The communications network carries the request, as air traffic control in the region is notified that someone intends to be bouncing down into the area from orbit. It's not like Carol can't avoid planes and other craft in mid-air, but it's still considered good manners to tell them she's coming first. And Carol was trained as a pilot long, long before she could ever move herself without a craft.
And now, Supergirl is sure that Fairchild is speaking in some kind of foreign language. Oh, the words are English, alright, but Kara is completely puzled by what Caitlin is trying to convey. "Ummm….okay?" is all Kara can say as Caitlin grabs her arm and seems prepared to drag the Kryptonian girl away to who knows where. Still, despite the confusion, Kara can't help but smile a bit, with Fairchild's obvious enthusiasm being a bit infectious.And when Captain Marvel's Javelin comes in for a landing, Kara smiles and waves to the blonde woman that emerges. "Hello, Captain. How have you been?"
Caitlin fairly looms over Kara, staring at her with wide, unblinking green eyes, her expression oddly intense.
"The /Star Wars/, Kara. The epic saga. Good vs. Evil. Light vs. Dark. Lightsabers. The Force. Starships. Harrison Ford, /in/ breeches, shooting aliens. In the /face/." She points at her face.
And then the incoming Javelin light blinks a few times, and Caitlin looks up. Hearing that it's Captain Marvel inbound, she beams in excitement. "Oh great, good timing!" She claps her hands together excitedly, waiting for Carol to get her boots on the ground before greeting the woman.
No Javelin inbound, though the systems likely tag her as such, since she's coming to land there anyway. Captain Marvel waits for clearance, as agreed, and then launches herself from orbit, that golden glow of hers building with intensity as she absorbs the heat of her own re-entry and uses it to augment her flight. She is not nearly so crude as to just drop like a rock and slam into the Earth; no, she flies a precise geometric pattern, mapped out with a flight plan and everything, arcing across the heavens and coming down to alight with a still-simmering golden corona around her, surrounding that blue-based red and gold costume.
"Good afternoon." Captain Marvel offers, as her helmet flares with that light and then recedes, melting away as an effort of will, and the glow fades away as she no longer needs the energy, letting it bleed off for now. "How is everyone down here?"
"I'm doing well," Supergirl replies to Captain Marvel with a smile. "I'm back from some fighting training with the Amazons on Themyscira. So, I'm getting used to 'normal' life again." Kara is rather amused at the idea of her life being normal. She then turns to the excited Caitlin next to her. "And apparently, Caitlin is rather excited to introduce the Star Wars movies to me. Even though there are people getting shot in the face." Kara's smile turns to a quizical expression as she says that.
"Hi, Car- Cap!" Caitlin says, trying to reassume her Professional Hero equilibrium. She's still grinning, though, so that ruins her professionalism a little bit. "I was helping with Valmorra, or, trying to," she amends.
She picks Kara up by her upper arm like she's a cardboard cutout, waving the girl back and forth. "And look! Kara's back!" She sets Kara back down. "I finally have someone to teach me some fightin' moves who won't get broken in half the first time I don't pull a punch or somethin'."
Carol offers a nod to Supergirl. "Welcome back from Themyscira." Carol has never been to the island of the Amazons, and she's not actually bucking for an invite, either. Oh, she wouldn't mind it, and it could be interesting. But Carol has never been one who believed a woman needed to exclude men in order to find a unity with her sisters. And she has never been one to lack for opinions.
"Caitlin does love her movies. You should let her share them with you. It can be quite fun, and she usually provides excellent popcorn." Carol ammends to Kara, with a wink. All in good fun, right?
Captain Marvel tries not to grouch at Caitlin's outburst. "You know she's not the only one, right?" Hey, Carol can take a punch, even one of Caitlin's. And then there's the Amazon, and the other Kryptonian. Caitlin's not as alone as she just implied. "But I'm all for spreading around the wealth." 'Cause it takes a lot of energy to heal up those bruised ribs ever time.
Supergil nods to Captain Marvel's words about everyone taking the lumps in battle. "We all do what we can," she says. "Even those of us without great strength and durability conribute greatly. We just happen to be in a position to handle a lot of the rougher customers." She grins, thankful for her Kryptonian physiology. "Well, I had plenty of bruises in the training, believe me. But I learned a lot there. And yes, Caitlin, I can show you a few moves." Kara smiles brightly at Fairchild, slowly letting ehrself be lead towards movie-time. "Popcorn," Kara says with a smile. "Popcorn is always good. And especially good with movies." She looks at Caitlin questioningly. "How long are we talking about when you say 'marathon'?"
Caitlin's face falls at Carol's words, as if sensing a bit of umbrage. "Oh gosh, I'm- I'm sorry Carol," she says, immediately looking crestfallen and a little distressed. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean— just— y'know, that—" Realizing she's stuck her foot firmly in her mouth, Caitlin opts for the 'shut mouth, silence self' response, teeth clacking together.
"The marathon? Thirteen hours," Caitlin tells Kara. "Not allowing for bathroom breaks and depending on how much time you spend watching credits, titles, deleted scenes, that kinda thing." She shrugs. "I like to start around ten AM on a Saturday so I can sleep in late Sunday. Also, I call ahead to Dominos so they know I'll be ordering five or six pizzas."
Carol tsks gently and shakes her head at Caitlin. "You know what's even more fun than watching all those Star Wars movies?" she inquires in a teasing tone. "Actually going out there and meeting the aliens yourself, in their worlds." Which might be why the idea doesn't fascinate Carol quite so much. "But why warn Dominos? Isn't it their job to take the order and deliver on time?"
"Pizza?" Kara perks up at the mention. "You might want to add a couple more pizzas to that estimate. If this is going to be a non-stop marathon to 'kick back', I can eat quite a few of those myself." She smiles and gets a hungry look in her eyes. "So, you're wanting to do this Saturday and Sunday? I think I'd be up for that." An excuse to indulge in Earth junk food and pop culture; Kara's starting to look forward to this. When Captain Marvel talks about experiencing aliens 'out there', Supergirl gets a wry look on her face. "Or you can always, you know, just let the aliens come to you here." There's a smirk on her face in case Carol's forgotten who she's talking to.
Caitlin snorts, then laughs at Carol and Kara. "Haha, oh my god, right?" she asks Kara. "'cause like, aliens, and stuff. On Earth. Hahaha." She giggles, looking back and forth from Carol to Kara. "Y'know. She's an alien?"
She locks her elbows and moves her arms back and forth. "Take-me-to-your-leader," she says, in a robotic monotone.
Caitlin's smile fades a bit. "Y'know, like from… Gort… The Day the Earth Stood Still..?"
She looks to Kara, then back at Carol, then at Kara, then at the ground, then at something very interesting across the room, then at her toes.
"…ahem." She clears her throat, clasping her fingers behind her back, and skips one tiny piece of debris back across the workbay with a booted toe.
"So, yes, Saturday," she says, after the silence reaches Maximum Awkward.
Carol smirks and winks at the blonde. "I'm well ware that if one stays around here, some aliens come to me. But then they come to me in my world, and I don't get to see theirs."
The Captain strolls up and chucks Caitlin on a shoulder, then rubs the redhead's bicep gently. "I got the references, you know. I'm not clueless."
Kara smiles and shrugs a little to Captain Marvel. "I can understand that, Captain. Kryptonians just weren't real big on travel away from home. Maybe a bad habit to get rid of, yeah?" Caitlin's little green man impersonation gets a smile from Supergirl, and she also gives Fairchild a reassuring chuck on the shoulder. "You like science fiction movies; it's okay. We all have moments where we go a bit goofy about things."
Awkward toe stubbing goes to a skyward supplication as Carol and Kara batter her back and forth between them, but an irrepressible smile crosses her face, and she half-heartedly bats away their hands. "Okay, okay," she mutters sheepishly, leaning against Carol affectionately for a half-beat.
"In fairness, for /you/, it'll be more like… I guess magic?" she hazards to Kara. "'cause with the Force, and stuff. Also, no one's bulletproof or whatever."
She gives Carol a bump with one elbow. "How about it? Wanna veg out and eat pizza and watch movies? Also, um…I … kinda need some help," she says, pointing at her hair. She's been letting it grow out but clearly hasn't seen a stylist to control the progress, and it's quite close to the same length at Carol's 'do. It's pretty obvious that Caitlin rolled out of bed, attacked it with a straight comb, and called it finished. "It's flat when I want it to be floofy, and it's floofy when I want it to go flat. How do I make it do that other thing. I googled it and all I got were a billion ads for product. What's product? I just use Hair n' shoulders."
Oh, more hugs. Good thing Carol doesn't mind hugs. So many do, but not her. Its' all good. "I'll admit, whole marathons aren't usually my thing. But if you'd like, and no one manages to create an emergency requiring my attention … sure. Why not? It could be fun." Besides, Carol's pretty sure she hasn't seen all of them. She recalls the first one. Past that? Enh, it gets fuzzy.
Then? Then Caitlin starts asking questions about styling hair, and Carol gets a sort of trapped expression, like a wolf finding itself with a paw trapped in steel jaws. Bloody freedom, that glance says, considering how to best saw off a limb.
"Caitlin …" Carol begins, torturedly. "… I … You're going to hate me so much." And why would that be? "Remember how we talked about uniforms and clothing changes? And laundry?" Carol waits for those thoughts to be recalled in the redhead's mind. "Now … think about how that might apply to hair." C'mon. Caitlin is a very bright woman. She can figure this out.
Why does Carol's hair always look perfect? It's her damned superpowers. Of course.
After Carol falters a bit when Caitlin asks about hair care, Supergirl says in a quiet voice. "Well…maybe I can help?" She's looking a bit reserved as she voulenteers her help. "I mean, I'm not a beauty and style expert, but I've gotten a lot of help from freinds since I arrived. Make-up is still a bit weird for me, but I think I do okay with hair." Kara smiles, and it's true that her hair does tend to look fantastic. Whether it's from shampoo & conditioner or Kryptonian physiology remains to be seen. "Maybe while we're watching the movies, we can deal with hair and fashion? I mean, that's pretty typical for Earth girls, right?" Having done a couple makeovers in her time here on earth, the quesion is less a confirmation and more something to try and build Caitlin's spirits some.
Caitlin stares at Carol. "Sometimes, Captain Danvers, I hate you a little. Just…" She holds her fingers a millimeter apart, and eyes Carol between the gap. "That much."
She runs her fingers through her hair in a bit of frustration. "But, you hooked me up with the unstable molecule uniforms, so I guess I can't stay TOO mad." She gives Carol's shoulder a light shove with her fingertips, grinning brilliantly despite her vaunted irritation.
"I … okay, Kara," Caitlin nods, putting herself— and her hair— in Kara's hands. "I mean… I used to have insanely frizzy hair. Like…" she gestures with her hands. "Pfoooph. It's more manageable now. I just don't know what to do with it." She shrugs helplessly. "I don't use makeup either, though… Kate might know someone?" she hazards. Anyone who suggests Caitlin could use makeup is probably out of their gourd, though.
"Anyway, yay! Girl's night. I've never had one of those," she reflects. "Last time I did anything like that was my sophmore year in college, but we were working on a modified atmospheric sensor and then I burned myself with a soldering gun."
"It's OK to hate me, you know. I get it." Just as Caitlin was very jealous of Carol's uniform solutions as well. She gets it. And she did say she'd hate her just a bit.
"OK. Girl's night in. That sounds just fine to me." Carol offers. "You'll just need to send me the address, and I'll be there."