April 07, 2016:
Diana shows Kara and Caitlin the Invisible Plane; Plans are made to visit Themyscira; Kal-El drops in with some bad news; Aquaman arrives; and the mysterious mambo Lyn makes a showing.
Justice League HQ
The Headquarters of the Justice League
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
Meanwhle, at the Hall of Justice…
Up in the skies over Metropolis, a figure flies that is neither a bird, nor a plane. It's not even a man. It's Supergirl, and she's smiling so brightly, she would be flying even if she weren't already capable of flight. The Girl of Steel lands on the steps of the Hall of Justice, walking inside with more confidence and positive atittude than her teammates have seen her display in months. Once she's checked in with security, Kara makes her way to the main area, looking to see which Leaguers might be around.
"No, Miss Fairchild," the technician protests, blocking Caitlin gamely. It's not that the smaller woman can really STOP Caitlin, but the redheaded ginger is at least polite enough not to shove her out of the way.
"Aww, c'mon! I just wanna overclock it a little bit!" Caitlin protests, whinging. The technician narrows her eyes. "Miss Fairchild, if I let you mess with this computer," she says, gesturing at the mainframe behind her, "you could potentially endanger all operations for the Justice League for -weeks-."
"Aww, c'mon, I just wanna play Doom, and my computer sucks," Caitlin pleads.
"NO."
Caitlin harrumphs and throws her hands in the air in exasperation, turning and walking away. The technician sags against the console in relief when Caitlin gives up, but the redhead is more focused on the beaming blonde walking in. "Hey girl!" she chirps, waving at Kara. "Wow! You look like you just took a lap in the heliosphere. You get some sun or are you just in a good mood?"
Diana had been training again…she'd been doing that even more then usual lately. Pressures mounting…she needed a vacation. A trip back home was in order soon, that much was certain. Still in costume, the woman even has her sword secured at her hip when she steps out of the training space and into the hall proper, spotting the pair of young woman near the enterance and raising a hand in greeting. She'd missed the exchange between Caitlin and the technician, but the dual good moods radiating from the others was a little infectious.
"Caitlin!" Kara calls out happily. She goes over and hugs her friend. "I am in a *great* mood," she says, stating the obvious. "I had a visit from an old friend. Someone I haven't seen in a while. And it pulled me out of a really major funk I was starting to fall into." As Diana moves closer, Kara turns and waves to her freind and mentor. "Hi, Diana. How are you doing today?"
Caitlin hugs Kara back, and hangs on her shoulders for a second. 'cause she can, and because Kara is one of two or three friends who won't fall over and die from near a sixth of a ton of ginger hanging from her slender frame.
"Cool! Wait, you have other friends? Why do you hang out with me?" She flashes a grin at Kara, swinging her feet back under her and standing on her own feet. When Diana approaches, she stiffens just a little—
Caitlin hugs Kara back, and hangs on her shoulders for a second. 'cause she can, and because Kara is one of two or three friends who won't fall over and die from near a sixth of a ton of ginger hanging from her slender frame.
"Cool! Wait, you have other friends? Why do you hang out with me?" She flashes a grin at Kara, swinging her feet back under her and standing on her own feet. When Diana approaches, she stiffens just a little— not awkwardly, but very self-consciously. "Hi Diana," she says, smiling at the Amazon. "How're you? What's new? Practicing? Good day for it." She clicks her jaw shut, sensing she's rambling a bit.
Last time Diana had seen Fairchild, she'd been trading punches with Carol while Caitlin cheered from the sidelines and artfully avoided training against the Amazon. She hadn't forgotten, but the nerves make Diana give a smile of warmth and radience that truely could have only come from Aphrodite herself. "Kara," the Princess greets, changing her path to join the pair and reaching to give the shorter woman a pat on the arm in greeting before looking to Fairchild. "And Caitlin, I trust you are both well?"
It may not exactly be proper ettiquite, but Kara turns and gives Diana a quick hug. "I am very well, Diana." She did notice a bit of tension between Diana and Caitlin, but Kara tries to get whatever is bothering the other two put on the back burner here. "Of course I haveother frineds, you goofball," Kara says to Caitlin. "And I hang out with you becasue you're fun to hang around with." Returning her attention back to Diana, Kara continues. "I was telling Caitlin that I got a visit from an old friend. Red Robin is back." And as Kara says that name, she seems to brighten more. "So, the Titans will be rather happy with that."
"Ooh! Nice! I need to get some Instagram pics of him," Caitlin tells Kara. "His page has been kinda lame for a few months. Nothing crazy, just let me know next time he's in the area and I'll get a few shots to throw up on the interwebs. Everyone needs a social media presence," she remarks to both women. "Helps with public opinion an' stuff."
She considers Diana's question, then shrugs, blinking in mild confusion. "I'm great, I think," she tells the Amazon, hands clasped loosely behind her back. "I ate about an hour ago, so I've got that goin' for me."
"Red Robin? I'm sure they'll be very relieved at his return," Wonder woman nods, smiling still before Caitlin's reaction makes her chuckle and reach out, patting the other woman on the shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it, that is certainly a start." It seems that today is one of those rare gifts where there is no crisis to jump to, no political worries that need to be smoothed over by a diplomat this time…it's kind of strange really. "And what are the two of you planning for today?"
Kara can't help but giggle at Caitlin a bit. Schoolgirl-like, even. "Cait…Red Robin is one of the Bat-Folk. Instagram is really not his thing. Remaining a urban myth that no-one really believes exists is his thing." Then again, maybe Tim actually did set up an Instagram account. Kara will ask, if only as a joke. "Anyways, he's been a good friend; one of my first here on Earth, really. And it just feels good to have him back." There's probably more there, although only Diana would know of that. "I've got no plans for today. Just wanted to stop by and hang out, really."
"Yeah, I know— I've only got like, two photos of him. And they suck."
"I was gonna install Doom onto the mainframe," Caitlin tells Diana, hedging a bit. "But first, I ate an hour ago, so I won't be hungry for a bit, and then I cleaned my room but it's a small apartment so there's not much to do. And then I was gonna overclock the computer a bit to get a higher frame rate, but then Denise told me I'm not allowed to install Doom -or- overclock the computer."
"Soooo" Does Caitlin -ever- stop to breathe? "Carol's busy and we were GONNA work on her plane, but I'm not gonna install the intake manifold without her because I think she's got some particular ideas about the timing on that because it's a Allison engine and the supercharger can apparently do weird things to the timing rod if you don't quite get all the pistons firing on the right timing."
Caitlin looks skyward thoughtfully and counts on her sixth finger, switching hands, "and then I bumped into Kara, and then we bumped into you, so no, I don't have anything going on today I don't think."
"You truely have an appetite that would rival an Amazon warrior Caitlin," Diana chuckles lightly before the comment on the computer makes the Amazon frown. "The league computer? Perhaps you should stick with a laptop. I imagine that Batman would not take too kindly to someone messing with mission files for the sake of amusement." The dark-haired woman nods at Kara's comment on her plans, but Caitlin's comment about the plane leaves Wonder Woman to cross her arms over her chest and raise an impressed eyebrow. "You're fond of tinkering then?" she muses, "And you think you can improve it?"
"Yeah," Kara chimes in. "Batman is kind of funny about the computer equipment like that." As for Caitlin being a mechanical genius, Kara looks semi-surprised. "If Carol is letting you work on her plane with her, you've got to be good with machines. She wouldn't let just anyone touch her plane. Come to think of it, weren't you helping out Carol and Shayera on Shayera's ship?"
"W-well yeah," Caitlin says, a bit nervously at Diana's pointed question as it shifts from polite generalities to specifics. "It's a twelve-cylinder Allison engine block. It wasn't designed for a two-speed supercharger, so it has a lot more displacement. But that means that it was overengineered with heavier pistons and rods because the steel was less durable." She looks from Diana to Kara, then back again. "I could build one out of modern alloys and aluminum that'd be thirty percent lighter and produce…" she flfffrrts out a lungful of air through her bangs, thinking, "like, twenty percent more thrust but y'know, it's an old plane and I just don't think it'd handle the increased tension on the struts and primary fuselage."
She blinks, coming out of her technical chatter, and turns a bit pink on her cheekbones. "I mean, also, it's… it's not really -mine-, it's Carol's, and she's restoring it, not… not y'know, modding it," Caitlin says in an embarassed mumble, finding something interesting on the ground to poke with her toe.
"I was -kinda- helpin', but Jericho told me he had it covered," Caitlin asides to Kara. "He didn't really want my help, I don't think, and … Shay, um… Shay kinda scares me," she admits in a low voice, eyes flickering around as if making sure Hawkgirl isn't loitering in the rafters to strike.
"Indeed?" Diana says, clearly a mixture of suprised and impressed. There's a moment as the Amazon considers, her hand coming to her chin and then her cheek before a smile spreads on her lips. "Well Caitlin, if you were planning to work on the plane and are now unable to…" she gestures to the hallway that would lead to the hanger of the League's headquarters. "I was considering making a trip back to Themyscira soon. A rest of sorts, while also ensuring the chaos that put the Atlanteans at risk has not reached my home…perhaps you'd like to look at -my- plane. It may be quite a bit different to what you're used to."
It wasn't exactly a comment offered lightly, the invisible plane her mother had given her years ago was as precious to Diana as the costume she wears or the lasso on her hip, it was a momento of her Mother's time with the mantle of Wonder Woman…but she was making the offer none the less. "If you promise to take great care."
Kara steps up to Caitlin and puts a hand on her shoulder. "No floppopotamus, yeah?" She smiles at her freind, nodding in reassurance. "You've got this. And Diana's plane is going to blow your mind." Maybe she can talk Kal into letting Caitlin look at some Kryptonian tech as a treat. "Diana, if you're going to show Caitlin your plane, I'll catch up. Caitlin may have eaten, but I thin I'd like to go grab a quick snack." She hugs them both in turn. "And if there's a trip to Themyscria in the planning, let me know!" As she moves off, still beaming happily, Kara gives the women a wave.
Caitlin squares her shoulders a bit at Kara's gentle reminder, trying to suppress the slow leak of excited air in her vicinity. "Ri-right. Thanks," she murmurs. She gives Kara a fast hug and turns back to Diana, fairly wriggling with excitement. "But um, yeah, I can… I can take a look at it. I mean, I -can-, right? It's not invisible right now? If it is that's gonna slow me down a little. But I'll definitely look at it, y'know, and see what's up. Is it not working right? If it's a handling issue, that's your flaps, but if it's your thrust or trim control, that might be a problem with the engines. I know it's old— is it prop driven?" Caitlin asks, her thoughts darting all over the place.
* OOC Time: Sat May 07 22:45:42 2016 *
+MEET: Supergirl has arrived via +meet.
Superman arrives from OOC Land.
"It's not invisible -all- the time," Wonder Woman laughs, shrugging her shoulders. "Otherwise even I might lose it." Caitlin's questions on function and broken componants however earn a raise of her hand. "It's…broken, but not as a plane. It's kind of hard to explain. As for it's parts and how it works? I can't say I understand or ever did. All the more reason for you to take a look Caitlin. Maybe you will learn somethign I haven't."
Diana shrugs her shoulders again, looking to Kara with a smile. "You know you would be welcome there at any time, but I will let you know."
So, one of the advantages of super-speed is Kara returning in a matter of seconds with a chocolate milkshake in hand. She's also got a milkshake each for Caitlin and Diana if they want. "Well, I think a vacation there is sort of different than me showing up for Artemis to beat me up with a staff for a few hours," Kara tells Diana with a smile. "But, noted. And thank you." As for the visible Invisible Jet, Kara stays quiet. She's not exactly sure how it works herself, although she's never really taken an indepth look at it.
"Hmm. Okay. Well, I mean— I guess I'm no more qualified than anyone else to work on it, since it's like… magic?" Caitlin hazards.
"Ooh, thanks Kara." Caitlin accepts the milkshake with an utter fearlessness for caloric intake and puts the straw in the side of her mouth, and starts drawing hungrily, draining the plastic container with visible speed. "Umf. Best milkshakes ever," she tells Kara, following Diana to her private hanger.
"So— like, since I've never actually -seen- the invisible plane… what is it, exactly?"
The blur was noticed, by another source of super-blurs. In this particular case, Superman. And so it is that Kara was followed… in that not long after, Superman makes an appearance, though with much less blur, because he takes his time, not in a particular hurry or interested in startling any of them. Superman has been absent enough to where if he appeared suddenly, that could be a shock… sadly. He doesn't intrude on the conversation, but wears an interested, curious expression, approaching. Seems he arrived just in time to observe Caitlin sucking in a ton of milkshake, and she gets an amused smile from Superman.
Diana just shrugs. The tech was as mystical as it was advanced. Maybe her mother had known more about it, but she'd never shared great detail in the past. She herself had always been more practical about it. It worked and let her do what she did to help others, that was all she needed to know." Kara's comment just brings a sly grin from the Amazon Princess at the Kryptonian teen. "That sounds like a vacation to me. What is a holiday without a little combat?"
The sudden movement of another unexpected makes Diana's smile leave as she turns her head, her enhanced senses quickly coming to focus in on the source. "Kal," she says in greeting, but doesn't speak more then that one word.
"Yeah, how silly of me for thinking that I could leave Themyscria without a body covered in bruises as souveniers?" Kara smiles at Diana, teasing her. "But I should get back into doing training once a week or so. I think I've got a handle on my schedule now."
With the sudden appearance of Superman, Kara smiles and gives him a high-speed hug. "Kal!" Clearly, she's more excited to see him than Diana is. "How have you been? Want me to grab you a milkshake, too?"
Caitlin's used to Kara zipping around— kinda— but that's just a lotta movement when Superman just… appears there. She waves at him, too, moving the milkshake straw to one side of her mouth and watching Supergirl hug him.
Realizing she's sort of staring at his biceps, she blinks twice and focuses back on Diana. "Well, you're not being super duper helpful, buuuuut, I guess I'll figure it out," Caitlin says with a dimpled grin for Diana. "But, uh, y'know… um… if I get it running, you gotta… take me to Themyscira?" It should be a bold declaration, but Caitlin fumbles at the goal line and it turns into a nervous uptick of her voice. She blinks at Diana, abashed. "Uh, please?"
She pulls open the hangar door and steps into the room, then whistles without any self-consciousness, staring at the Not-Currently-Invisible plane. "It's like a Mustang had a baby with an SR-71," she marvels. "And that baby grew up -hot-."
She walks to the ship, timorously, and touches the hull with her fingertips, then slides her palm along the underside of the fuselage. "Hmm. So it's not made of steel. But how does it move, I don't see any… just these intake manifolds…" she hums, mumbling to herself and looking for an access hatch. She finds with in a few seconds, and with a 'hah' sticks her head and shoulders inside the plane's frame. "Oh! This is cool," she marvels, almost disappearing inside the fusealge.
"Di—" Superman begins, but Kara's suddenly hugging him, and completely wrecks the serious yet friendly greeting with a nod that had been intended to be aimed at Diana. And it's perfectly all right. "I've been well, and I've had my milkshake, but thank you," he answers the eager girl, willing to return her hug, although he doesn't quite match her energy.
As Caitlin disappears inside the plane, Superman arches a brow in a silent question at the other two. No need to ask, probably.
Watching Caitlin 'geek out' a the plane just makes Diana smile. The first time she'd seen it she'd been a young girl and her reaction had been much the same, save the technical commentary. Kara's pounce-hugging and hug-ee are watched with a momentary lapse into warm compassion. She can grill Superman about where the heck he's been later, for now it's just good to see the cousins reunited. Looking back at Caitlin again at the nervous question, the dark-haired princess shrugs. "You would be welcome, if you wished to come."
Kara gives Kal another, quick hug, then steps away to let him talk. "Good," she sys to him. "We can catch up later." She turns to go look at the invisible jet with Caitlin. "So what do ou think, Cait? Gonna be able to give Diana's plane a speed boost?" She starts sipping her milkshake as she examines the plane, using her x-ray vision to catch interior details.
"Well, I don't know. It's basically a jet engine, but I'm trying to figure out how it runs. See, the intakes… wait.. y'know, maybe it's not a jet engine. It might be… hey, is this what I think it is? Oooh, and if this goes… here…" Caitlin hauls herself furthur into the plane, until she's mostly just a pair of wiggling bare legs sticking out from the fuselage. "Oh! Okay. And then -this- goes… hmm. Wait. No, that's not— okay… hmm…" There's a clattering and an 'oof' as Caitlin flips over inside the plane, twisting herself around as best she can in the tight confines of the fuselage. "Wow! So -that's- what the distributor node looks like! Kara, gimme one of those spetroscopes over on the table there, it's the little yellow dealie with the, um, two red dealies and the metal doodad on the end," Caitlin calls down to Kara, clearly in high spirits.
Kal-El nods once to Kara's request to catch up later. He'll be around and available. "Sure," he agrees to her simply. As she moves to go join Caitlin, Superman moves to stand near Diana, looking on with a thoughtful, but distant, expression. And it isn't that he's using x-ray vision, he's just not fully there at the moment, it appears, although he's pretty good at masking it. A man of mortal masks, this one. But he says quietly aside to Diana without turning his head, in a repressed tone, "Pa was injured— an accident. He's doing well now, on his feet again." Simple, informative.
+MEET: Aquaman has arrived via +meet.
Diana just watches the exchange between Caitlin, Kara and her precious plane even as Kal-El leans in, his words bringing a nod from the princess. "I wish him a speedy recovery," she says then. Injured family? The orphan Princess of the Amazons could certainly sympathise easily. Currently in full costume save her sword and shield, Wonder Woman exhales a breath and turns to look at Superman properly. "There is much going on, tensions with Man's World and these new people of the sea. This 'god'. We may all be needed soon more then ever."
Kara brings the requested gizmo to Caitlin. "Here you go. So, Caitlin…." Kara's about to start in on a question, but then she overhears Superman talking about Pa Kent. She quickly turns to face Kal, a shocked and worried expression on her face. But then he explains that Pa is okay, and the Girl of Steel sighs in relief. "I'll stop by soon and see them," she whispers to him, quiet enough so that only super-hearing would pick up.
"Ummm…yeah, Caitlin," Kara sarts over again after another deep breath. "I was wondering if you wanted to hit the mall next week. Do a bit of actual shopping instead of just window shopping for once." She takes a long drink of the milkshake. "Superboy might be hanging there too…"
"So this goes.. here, and… thanks, Kara," Caitlin says, sticking a hand out of the fuselage and accepting the spectroscope. She starts tapping it against various surfaces, glancing at readouts, then goes 'oooooooohhhh' and bobbles her feet in the air. "Okay! I see. It's not a jet engine at all. It's a gravimetric wave propulsion system. Stark invented those," she remarks, mostly talking to herself still.
"Huh? Mall? Sure," Caitlin tells Kara absently. "I'm sure there's lots of cute boys there." Okay, so she doesn't have super-hearing. She turns and twists, one wedged sandal falling off a foot, then joined by the other, and Caitlin disappears entirely into the invisible plane.
*thunk* thunk *THUNK* *BZZZRT* "Ow!" *THUNK* And then a fuselage panel a few feet back falls open and Caitlin spills out to the ground, landing square on her head to no apparent ill-effect. She gets to her feet quickly, getting her skirt and shirt back in order, and turns in a circle.
"Hi Diana! Didja know this is a gravity drive?" she calls back at the Amazon. "Also, I have no idea what's powering it, but there's a glowing rock in there that shocked me," she says, holding up a scorched fingetip, "and it's gotta be putting out almost as much power as an Arc reactor. Where'd you get it?"
"Thank you," Kal-El says, honestly, at Diana's wish. He does hear the whisper, Kara will see him focus on her. And nod once; Pa Kent would like that. He does, also, then seem to return from.. wherever he was with his distant expression as the Princess of Amazons turns his way and commands his full attention. A firm intensity comes to his clear eyes, and he gives her a direct answering look. "You have my full support, as you know," he adds, perhaps unnecessarily, but he says it anyway. Sometimes such a thing can do a lot for morale — and his confident expression perhaps more than words, may help there. "Do you feel the team is ready?" he inquires. But then Caitlin is calling over at them, and he gives a brief patient smile, if she'd rather address that — he can wait.
The sound of water dripping and the soft echoing clink of metal on stone can be heard as Aquaman enters the room, clearly having come directly from his home. He's the reason the original HQ never had carpet flooring, sea water just gets /everywhere/. It's been some time since he's used the teleporter or contacted the Justice League, in any of forms, since he left over a year ago after he left Fury a few choice words conserning the words 'forgien oversite' and 'sovereign territory'. Things for him have not been good since then. He was assassinated, his brother led an invasion of the surface that leveled a sizeable portion of Metropolis and then gutted Supergirl in the middle of the street… As far as years go, Arthur's seen better. And it shows.
His friends, the old friends, would see it at once. His hair is a little to long, scraggly, his beard hasn't been shaved in months and while some effort to trim it has been made it's hardly been successful. His glittering 'golden' armor is dull now, chipped and worn, more then a few of the scales are missing entirely. There are dark circles around his eyes and his cheeks are a bit more hollow then anyone might remember… and there's a shocking amount of visible gray in the golden hair at his temples. Which is both new and alarming, seeing as how that's somewhat unusual for a man in his early 30's. The only part of him that retains all of it's remembered luster is the trident, which gleams and glints in the light as if it had been removed from the forge only an hour ago. "I've met gods. Don't remember any of them looking like that." he quips with forced leivity, "Hey guys." somehow the hello seems inadequate after all that's passed, "Jet upgrades?" he offers weakly to Diana. Small talk. Trying small talk first.
"From my mother," Diana answers Caitlin, a short answer but one that contains quite a lot of weight for those who would know. Amusement at the antics of the mechanic is short-lived as the Justice League Founder looks back at Superman. "I believe they are skilled, I believe they will do well…I -hope- they are ready, but things may not wait for us to know it is so." She would say more, perhaps give voice to more concerns or confience, but the arrival of another long-lost leaguer makes Diana pause and blink a little. Attempted small-talk is met with a slow blink and a nod from the Amazon. "Tinkering."
Lots of questions, nowhere to start.
"Ummm…yeah. Cute guys…." Okay, Caitlin might not quite have gotten the gist of the invitation, but it's still in effect. Step complete! "It's a gravity drive?" she asks Caitlin. "Let me take a look…." She moves over to where Cait is standing and looks at the propoulsion system. "The rockets that brought Kal and I to Earth had gravity drives as part of the propulsion systems. I wonder how similar they are…"
Caitlin frowns at Diana's words, eyes rolling around in puzzlement. "From yo- wait, but this plane's like… Stark…" She starts counting on her fingers, not yet having spotted Arthur. Kara interrupts her train of thought. "Yeah, it's a graviton system," Catilin tells Kara. "And I think I read a treatise from Dr. Richards once on the Kryptonite rockets. Looking at satellite telemetry from the arrival of your rocket, there was a large gravimetric bow wave ahead of you. But, what's crazy here," she frowns, walking towards the more senior League members, "is that Diana's ship has technology that Stark was only just, like, barely getting to work back in the late 40s. Tony switched to a muon stream because gravimetrics require a higher powered energy source than muons and they're confined almost entirely to propulsion, can't overcharge or direct them from oh hi there," she blinks, coming up short when she spots the newcomer addressing Diana and Kal. She glances at Superman and Diana, then at Kara, then waves awkwardly at the new fellow— her behaviour rather at odds with being a ginger that's got several inches and a hundred pounds of weight on Diana, and is in a dress, to boot. "Hello. Are you new?"
Things that may have happened between Aquaman and others — during the time when Superman was missing — seem to have made no difference to the male Kryptonian, who immediately crosses and offers a hand: an offerance of immediate friendship and welcome. Should the other man accept it, he'll get a warm clasp of both hands on his. Kal-El's not going to stand about and small-talk it, it appears, but greet the ally fully, without questions. "Well, look what's surfaced! I'm glad to see you," Superman says, firmly, ignoring any …issues with Aquaman's physical state for now. It would be rude to bring it up. And his pleasure to see the other JLA member is evident.
"Welcome back." No hesitancy, no burned bridges. And making it clear that Arthur isn't 'new'.
Aquaman's mouth quirks at the corner at Diana's 'tinkering' quip, and he reaches out to clasp Kal's forearm tightly with his free hand. He slings the trident up over his shoulder, sliding it into it's place there, and claps Superman once on the shoulder firmly, "Hey there Kal." he offers softly, the skin at the edges of his eyes crinkling lightly when he smiles. "It's been to long." he says, then blinks and glances at Cait. Her question acutally causes him to bark out a single warm laugh that seems to shed some of the weight that's clearly settled in over his shoulders, as if he'd been in need of a sincere chuckle for to long. "To long for both of us it seems." he offers to Superman after Cait asks if he's new.
Kara looks at the drive again, then takes a few steps away from the invisible jet. "I'm going to go check on some of my father's notes. Maybe I can help you out with the refit, Caitlin." Seeing Aquaman as she moves towards the others, Kara gives him a quick bow. "Hello, Aquaman. I hope the news with Atlantis is good. We're all still ready to help you and the Blue as much as we can here." Another bow to Aquaman and a wave to everyone. "Let me know if anything comes up. I'll be back later on." Kal gets a smile and a whispered 'Catch up soon,' before she flies off.
Caitlin looks at Kal and Diana, and then Aquaman's sticking a hand out at her, so she extends her own hand and squeezes his, firmly if a bit awkwardly. She also smiles, too, a dimple appearing in one cheek. "Hi! I'm Caitlin Fairchild. I'm really new, too," she says to the scraggly blonde fellow. "No code name or anything, just call me Cait or Fairchild, whatever, I'm pretty easy like that."
She pauses long enough to give Kara a quick hug before the blonde girl can jet off, then turns back to the more senior members, interlacing her fingers below her stomach and suddenly looking a bit unnerved without the Kryptonian teen nearby. "So, uh, yeah, I think I can fix it, Diana, but I need to call some people up and probably steal some tools from the Baxter Building," she tells Wonder Woman. "I'm pretty sure I know what the issue is. Mostly sure. Yeah, no, pretty sure."
Kal-El gives Aquaman a slightly amused, maybe apologetic look. But Caitlin's charming, so… no doubt it's fine. "Too long… yes, no argument there. It's easy to change, if you're interested in that," Superman says, with a nod and gesture towards the interior of the headquarters with his other hand, after the warm handshake greeting is complete, and Caitlin gets her greeting in. "I'll be inside, I have some information to look up that can't wait… I do hope you'll come find me later. I think we have some lost time to recover," he suggests to Arthur. And then gives Diana and Caitlin a farewell. "Good luck on the repairs."
Aquaman quirks a brow as he shakes Cait's hand, "Aquaman." he says by way of greeting, he usually doesn't have to do that. Like at all. People that didn't know him before the invasion surely remembered him afterwards. You make an impression when you 'die' and your people respond by completly crashing global communications and cause entire Navies to vanish in the blink of an eye. He then nods once to Kara as she passes, and then again to Clark, though his gaze follows Supergirl more, a shadow of something flickering over his expression as she goes, "Oh I think we'll have more then enough time to talk in short order." he offers Clark before turning to face the two remaining women and the invisible jet, which he has to admit has been a never ending source of amussment for him.
"I have utmost faith in the pair of you," Wonder Woman says simply, looking over her shoulder at the bumbling introductions of Fairchild and the departure of Supergirl with a smile before she crosses her arms over her chest to look at the pair. "We -will- need to talk Arthur. And soon…but it can wait for tonight." A look towards Superman makes it pretty clear the comment goes for him too, the Amazon princess isn't above bossing around the strongest man on Earth at all.
"Oh. Oh… Oh!" Caitlin blinks rapidly, going through the stages of Celebrity Shock. "Oh my god! Okay. Wow! Okay! Hi! Wow! I'm sorry. Yeah, I totally— wow, I just totally missed that. I'm sorry. I'm—" she makes an air gesture near her head, not realizing she's still shaking his hand. "Wow, yeah, I really need to get your Instagram back online," she tells Arthur. "I mean, not -yours-, but the Aquaman page. I kinda took it down 'cause the trolls were getting a bit crazy, and there was that whole -thing-, so y'know, but, hey, you're back! Instagram's huge in the community, social media, all about it."
Caitlin stops chattering when she realizes everyone's looking at her, then looks down at the fact she's still shaking Arthur's hand slowly, then yanks her hand back. "Sorry."
Aquaman lets his hand fall away and he continues to offer the same small smile to Caitlin before glancing at Wonder Woman, "I like this one. She hasn't made the fish talking jokes yet and that usually doesn't take long." he waves the rest of her words away, "I don't so social media Ms. Fairchild, I'm usually to busy to bother tweeting, besides, phone's don't do well in my neighborhood." then he shoots Diana a look and he grows more serious, his expression darkening and the smile fading from his lips, "Actually…" he offers Cait an appologetic look before continuing, "I'm only here to ask a favor. Something has come up, we think we've found a way to close the rift but there is a um…" he seems to look into the middle distance for a moment before his shoulders square and his feet plant more firmly, "cost. When this is done, Mera may need council and I would ask it be you."
"She is likeable," Diana nods with a smile before that expression fades with the serious switch that comes from Aquaman and she tilts her head to the side. "Sacrifice?" she repeats slowly, frowning in the request that follows. It doesn't exactly take much of a leap to understand what he might be suggesting, what he may be asking of her. "Arthur…Atlantis needs its king. Man's World needs someone they trust to tell them that Atlantis is their ally, not an invader…"
Caitlin pinks a bit at the praise, stubbing a bare toe against the metal floor. "Am not," she mutters, but then the conversation turns to Srs Bidness, and she focuses on the topic at hand. And it shifts to stuff that's a -bit- over Caitlin's current pay grade of… whatever she's being paid.
"Um, Diana, should I… go?" Caitlin asks, softly, wiggling a thumb over her shoulder.
Aquaman's eyes harden a bit, "Atlantis and the world need peace more then either of them needs me Diana. You know that better then most." the founders of the JLA, all of them, have Seen Some Shit, aliens, demons, conquerers, time travel, other dimensions, they all signed up for the same gig, no matter the price. "There is a chance it will not come to that, but if it does I am the only one who can do what needs doing. Atlantis has sealed and guarded the gates since it was founded and it has always been the king's duty to see that the seals remain." he shrugs, "I am King." as if that explains everything. "But one day Atlantis may have a Queen and I would have your word she will not be without proper allies." his jaw buldges slightly at the sides as it clenches, "She is my wife Diana. Please." the last word takes effort. He makes a small motion with his hand, silently telling Caitlin she can stay if she wishes. League is League as far as he's conserned and while he'll keep state secrets from Leaguers when needed, he doesn't feel this qualifies. This is less about a King asking a friend to look after a kingdom and more a man asking a friend to look after his wife. A wife who might well kill him if she knew he was here even having this conversation. Mera is skurry like that.
+MEET: Lyn has arrived via +meet.
Diana exhales, but she understands. How could she not? Would she be so different if it were her own people? Listenng to the man's words and the clear weight it carries on him as much as anyone else. Maybe more. Her hand comes to rest on Arthur's shoulder, a squeeze given. "You have my word Arthur, I promise. I will be there for her if she needs me. She will always have a friend in the Amazons." The pair are standing in front of Wonder Woman's plane, Caitlin herself closest to it as she'd been tinkering and her question so far missed by the Princess.
"But so will you. I will respect what you choose, but I ask you to promise me that you will make sure there is no other way. No other option."
Caitlin shifts a bit, looking very uncomfortable. She's clearly not following the gist of what's going on, but the tone of the words— the reluctant resignation, the solemn promises, they're striking a chord in the ginger's heart. She knows Arthur's staring down something horrible about to happen, but she can't quite make that intuitive leap to why he would come to Diana to try and put things right with her in person.
Caitlin looks at the plane— formed of will and magic, using unknown power to harness little-understood principles of physics and allow Diana to fly anywhere she wants. That object, Caitlin understands. What's happening here… she's lost.
Aquaman nods his head once to the only friend he has who understands the weight of a crown and he reaches up to squeeze her hand onces. He's dripping, literally, all over the stone floor, havn't not been in the building long enough to have dried off, and he clearly looks the worse for wear. Dark circles, hollow cheeks, gray haired temples, his armor flaking and damaged, knuckles skinned and bloody. Someone's been in a fite! Rar!
He offers Diana a small smile, "Well I'm not exactly looking to die young. Have you seen my wife? She's crazy hot." he nods solemnly at his own 'wit'.
Lyn had checked the address multiple times. This place, this building; it was too regal, too powerful, so completely not her style. It had taken her a few trips to make it to Metropolis, the scenary contrasting sharply to her usual crawl of Gotham. Glancing down at the paper in her hand once more, she folds it up and slips it into her back pocket. Taking a breath, the girl swallows her hesitation and enters the Hall of Justice.
Her attire is normal for the girl with snake like eyes and crimson scales that spread across the back of her shoulders, and down the length of her spine. Ratty jeans, a loose shirt of crimson, and partially laced boots clunk with her steps, sounding her arrival. Clutching around a blood stained amulet that hangs from her throat, her vision skips about those faces currently present.
Reaching upward, she gives the trio a wave. "Hey," she sounds, both hands lowering to rest, limply, at her sides. "I, ah…sorry if m' interuptin' anyt'ing. Jus'…felt a need t'come dis way. Once by dis man who c'fly, n', well…I won' mention de other reason. I, c'n I help somehow? Maybe?"
Fortunately for Lyn, there wasn't any tours going on right this moment one could suspect her from running away from. She does however…kind of stick out. Wonder Woman turns her head, serious expression that had been tinted a little with amusement of Aquaman's joke now taking on a slight suprised expression as she regards Lyn. "A flying man?" she repeats, glancing at Aquaman questioningly, although she hardly expects the league member who had -just- shown up to know anything. Kara and Kal-El had both departed, so she couldn't ask them…right now it seems nobody knew.
"Who are you?" she questions softly, her voice calm and warm, bt no less commanding then one might expect. Asking the obvious questions, but at least she wasn't asking them at the end of her lasso.
Caitlin sniggers at Arthur's joke, and immediately covers her mouth to try and hide a smile. Can't hide the dimple, though, or the light in her very green eyes. "I think that's the consensus, yeah," Caitlin tells Arthur. "Must be all the swimming."
She stops and looks to Lyn, puzzlement on her features as the girl comes to a stop nearby. She gives Arthur an uneasily confused look, then glances at Diana— Wonder Woman's got it well in hand, of course, but Caitlin still prickles just a little and unnecessarily at the newcomer in their secret hangar! She only just got to see the Invisible Plane herself for the first time, today!"
Aquaman turns in time with Diana to eye Lyn, it was so well timed it was as if it had been coreographed. He doesn't repeat Diana's question but it's clearly there on his tired features… at least for a moment. Then he remembers this isn't really his club house and he has greater wars to fight. Like… against the Lovecraftian horror that is currently trying to climb it's way out of his oceans while slaughtering his people. He suspects that Wonder Woman can handle whatever is going on here, "Thank you Diana." he says once before glancing around the room, "I would love to play welcoming party but I've a war to return to. I've been away to long as it is." yeah. All what, ten minutes? He offers a simple not towards Lyn and then turns to make wet barefoot foot prints on the stone as he heads back towards the Zeta Beamroom. "A pleasure, meeting all of you." he offers over his shoulder as he goes.
Lyn looks between the trio as it soon only leaves her with the Amazon to look upon. She did speak to her, after all, so her snake like eyes linger. "Lyn. My names Lyn. I-I was told 'bout dis place by Superman b'fore. Never came dis way, dough." Obviously. The girl looks toward the jet, then the backs of both the Atlantian and the Ginger. "Jus' a feelin'. Somet'ing was drawin' me here. Somet'ing jus' ain't been feelin' right, so…t'ought I'd drop by n'see if I could help." Chuckling, nervously, she clears her throat and lowers her eyes. "Sorry. Ain't sure how t'really word it, 'specialy wit out soundin' crazy."
"Superman told you to come here?" The Amazon repeats, raising an eyebrow. That really raises its own set of questions towards the Kryptonian that will have to be levied later. "Crazy is not so uncommon here child," she says softly. Crossing her arms over her chest, the woman gestures for Lyn to draw closer with a nod of her head, the crates of the hanger offering a makeshift place for her to sit. "Share your words and we'll see."
Lyn sits with a hop up. Her feet dangle then as she gives another look around, the floof of her hair easily bobbing and swaying. "Met 'm while ago. Never came 'round den." She explains, leveling her serpent like gaze on the Diana's face. "Jus' been feelin' t'ings. T'ings off in a'magical sense. Somet'ing under de surface, stirrin' 'round. It's achin', rubblin'. I, ah, talk wit s'm spirits now n' den. She told me t'drop by, see what I c'find out."