13873/Reaching Out

Reaching Out
Date of Scene:	18 January 2023
Location:	Hall of Justice - New Troy
Synopsis:	Divine meets Superman.
Cast of Characters:	Divine, Clark Kent

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Divine has posed:
Divine, the half-human clone of Power Girl has spent a lot of time learning what it is to be a person. She came from her creators with powers and a built in invective on what to do with them. Luckily for everyone involved, it never worked out that way. When the Heavenly Host attacked New York City, she tangled with some Angels and ended up in the engine block of a Rolls Royce. This, however, got her taken in, given aid, and slowly but surely lured away from what she was made for.

Contentment can only last so long. She needs more. They won't know why she was made, but they might be able to help her figure out exactly what to do with her power. At the moment, she's just a very overpaid bodyguard, but something in her isn't sitting right with that. Something tells her that she can do more, but she doesn't know -how-. She has a good idea of someone who might, though.

Thusly, Divine floats in front of the Hall of Justice, taking it in. It's her first time here, but the look on her face isn't the simple awe one would have for such a feat of architecture. It's contemplative. What does this place -mean-? She's dressed in her usual leggings, calf-high combat boots and oversized hoodie, her hands stuffed in the pockets of the sweatshirt as she stares at the building.

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman had been keeping an eye out since an unknown Kryptonian had been mentioned to him. This could be good or bad. Good if somehow another had escaped the destruction of Krypton. Bad if it was someone like Dru-Zod. Either way, he needs to find her and get things figured out.

    Flying to the Hall this evening, his plans are pretty basic... check the monitors, make sure nothing was threating to blow up the world today, that sort of thing. His progress is checked by the sight of someone in the air outside the Hall. It looks like Karen except for the fashion choices. There's an easy way to make sure, however, so he changes his flight path slightly to end up in front of her.

    "Hello, I think you may be just the person I was looking to meet. Or at least you certainly look like her. Would you like to head inside and have a little talk?"

Divine has posed:
Divine is not really surprised when Superman shows up. He was who she wanted to talk to, but she half expected to run into Wonder Woman, The Flash, or the worst option Power Girl. She smiles a bit, clearly just a little bit shy. Up close, it is uncanny how identical she looks to Karen. She could -be- Karen with a dye job. The body language isn't quite right, though. She lacks the raw attitude that Power Girl has. Not exactly meek, but certainly a lot mellower.

"Superman," she says, her tone making it clear that she's a little nervous about this whole thing. "I was hoping to get to talk to you. If it's not too much trouble, absolutely."

Say what you want about Emma Frost, she's taught the girl some manners.

Clark Kent has posed:
    With a smile Superman shakes his head, saying "It's not a problem at all. Let's head inside, I'm very interested in what you have to say. It's not everyday I run across a new Kryptonian."

    He motions her to follow him and leads her to one of the meeting rooms so that they have some privacy to talk things over. He gestures at a small fridge in the corner "You can grab something to drink if you like."

    In an almost unconscious motion, he sits down without getting tangled in cape he wears. "Why don't you start and we'll see how things go?"

Divine has posed:
Part of her, a tiny voice, tells her to be suspicious. Nothing's ever free. No one is ever as nice as they seem to be. Especially not someone who is so -actively- kind and compassionate. She ignores it. She's not sure where that comes from, because it's certainly not her lived experience. Emma has been nothing but supportive, and not really asking much in return (Except to punch a rogue Sentinel, which was cool.) It's probably the genetic programming.

She follows Superman, taking the place in. She can't help but feel a little awed, impressed by the weight of the place. As she's led into a meeting room, she has to smirk just a little. It seems so mundane. A room like this could be anywhere.

"Thanks, but I think I'd just fidget with it right now. Talking is better for me if I don't have any distractions." She pauses, gathering her thoughts. "So, I'm not sure what you know about me, so I'll start there. It's not a lot, but it should give you an idea about where I'm coming from. As you've probably guessed, I'm a half-human clone of Power Girl. I was made by, whoever the hell made me, to try and kill her. To what end, I'm not sure. All I do know is that once they realized that my maximums couldn't even compete with her on a bad day, they dumped me off somewhere." She frowns, the memory of that fuzzy as hell. "I bummed around for a few months, doing petty crimes to at least have a place dry to stay. When the angels or whatever attacked New York, I got in a fistfight with one and they threw me into Miss Frost's limo. Since then she's helped me a lot. Learn about people, given me things to do and a place to stay."

She stops again, wringing her hands a bit. "I don't mind being a bodyguard and occasional muscle to help Mutants out. It's fine but...I want more. I need more than just...glowering at people to keep someone who, by the way does not need a bodyguard, safe. Miss Frost is scarier than I am."

Clark Kent has posed:
    Listening to her story, Superman lets her talk until she's done, then nods. "Ok, that explains things a bit better. You're not the first clone we've come across. Apparently people think it's a good idea to grow their own Kryptonian. It does worry me a bit that you were made to kill Power Girl, as you can no doubt imagine. It sounds like you've given up on that idea, which I'm happy to hear. Even if you can't match her, you could still cause a good deal of trouble."

    He sits back in his chair, considering her for a moment. "Well, it sounds like you've basically landed on your feet and found a place. If it's not exactly to your liking, I'm pretty sure we can find something for you to do. From what you said, it sounds like you're leaning towards being a hero and helping whoever needs it. That is, of course, what we do here."

    Superman thinks for a moment, then nods to himself, "We got another new member recently, I'm thinking that I can take both of you on patrols, that sort of thing. That way you can see the sort of things we do on a day to day basis and see if it's what you want to do."

Divine has posed:
"It's not that I'm ungrateful, or feel ...constrained. Miss Frost is incredibly encouraging of me finding my way. It's just, I haven't had a lot of opportunity to really do that. In the 'I have powers, what do I do with them' way, rather than 'Explore what it is to be a person' way." She stops again and bites her lip. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"I'm not asking to join the Justice League. Not at all. I'm a nobody. Sure, I'm stronger than most and tougher than most, but that's nothing special. I just, I don't know." She sighs, shaking her head. "Maybe I just want to learn what it means to have the heritage I have, even if it's not natural."

Clark Kent has posed:
    "Ok, that's not a problem either. There aren't too many of us here on Earth, but we are trying to keep a little piece of Krypton alive. I'd be happy to introduce you to the others and let you find out something about our history." He continues, "I'm sure you can understand that since you were created in an attempt to kill one of us, I'm afraid I'm not comfortable giving you complete access to our secrets until we've had a chance to get to know you better."

    "I think the first thing I'd like to do is get you and Power Girl into a room together and make certain there's been no conditioning in your mind that would be triggered by seeing your target. Depending how that goes, we'll figure the rest out. But you're wrong about one thing. You're not a nobody. You are a Kryptonian, and you can do just about anything you want to."

    He smiles, not wanting to seem stern or preachy. "Whatever you decide to do with your powers, the others and I will be there to help you figure out where you want your place to be. There's so few of us left, it's a great pleasure to find someone else who shares our bloodlines."

Divine has posed:
"That's fair. I'm not interested in secrets, so ulterior motive as far as I'm aware. Who knows what those as--jerks put in my brain before they dumped me on the street, though." If Divine understands anything, it's pragmatism and prudence.

She only makes a little face about being put in the same room as Power Girl. "I'll do it, but from what I know, she wants nothing to do with me. Miss Frost told her about me, and she never had the decency to even -try- to speak with me. But I'll do it as a sign of good faith." She smirks just a little. "And if I do go at her, it's not like y'all can't stop me."

"I do appreciate your kindness and your, absolutely understandably cautious, acceptance. I mean, I'm a clone made by people who either hate you, fear you or want to harness your powers for their own ends. Or all three. You have no reason to trust me. To invite me in here to talk to me, or to offer help and guidance. So, thank you. I hope I don't let you down, but, well. I think you have that effect on everybody. I almost wish I could have it too."

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman chuckles. "You never know, in the future you just might." He taps the symbol on his chest, saying "On Krypton, this means hope. That's what we try to do here, spread a little hope when things seem darkest. In the future, you might wear one of these as well. But for now, we'll stick to introducing you to the others and see where things go from there."

    "And to make that a little easier, what is the best way to contact you? I pretty much assume you have a cell phone, especially as a bodyguard." He pulls am actual business card from a flat pocket on his belt and offers it. "That number with get you straight through to me. If you need to talk, or the people who made you come after you, call me. And once I catch Power Girl we can set up that first meeting and then go on from there."

Divine has posed:
Divine nods once. Hope. When she was unleashed on the world, she didn't have that. She had spite and bitterness. She was alone and discarded. If things hadn't happened as they did, where would she be now? Locked up? Dead? Raging against a world that forgot her before they even knew about her and where she was never wanted in the first place? She tries not to think about that and, instead, just nods.

"Miss Frost, despite her abilities, insists on it. She roots around in her hoodie pocket and pulls out a pretty run of the mill smartphone. She peers at the business card and inputs the number into her contacts right away. She's at least picked up on technology pretty quick.

Somehow, she produces a pen from her pocket, and from the back of her phone case, pulls a business card. The front of it just says 'Emma Frost' and has a number on it. Must be the direct line. Divine flips it over and writes a number, presumably hers, on the back. She slides it across to Superman. "If you can't reach me, that's Miss Frost's direct line, and unless i'm dead in a ditch, or, for some reason in space, she can reach me."

Even with the contact added to her phone, she slips the card into her phone's case, and slips that back into her hoodie pocket. She hesitates a moment, and then stands, offering her hand. "It was very nice to meet you, Superman. I appreciate you taking time to speak with me." She pauses again. "You really are everything people say about you."

Clark Kent has posed:
    Taking the card, Superman also stands and takes the offered hand. There's no strength check or anything, just a normal firm handshake. "I'm glad you stopped by, because like it or not, you're family. But even if you weren't, what can I say? This is who and what I am, and I think the world probably needs a good example or two. I'll be in touch once I pin Power Girl down on a time for you two to meet, and then we can start teaching you about the Kryptonian side of your heritage."

    He starts walking her back out to the main part of the Hall, adding "You can also come here any time you want or need to, the doors are always open. Just in case you do run into something you can't handle, feel free to come here, there's usually at least one or two of us here watching the monitors for trouble around the world."

    He shrugs a little and adds, "That's one of the less than glamorous jobs we have to do sometimes. But it's still an important one, because we have to know about problems before we can fix them. I hope to see you around more, and you can tell Miss Frost that Superman thinks she could not have been more fortunate in her choice of bodyguard."

Divine has posed:
Divine is not exactly bursting with pride, but she seems a little energized, but also at peace. This went far better than how she imagined it. In her darkest thoughts, she'd assumed she would be in trouble just for existing, but this was honestly about as open arms as she could have gotten.

They move back through the Hall, and she's quiet, taking it in once again. This isn't her place. Open it might be, but for now, the weight of it feels too heavy for her. Still, it's good to know that she's welcome. "I will, thank you." She smiles slightly. "Believe me. I understand. I mean, bodyguarding a powerful psychic who could probably put a whole city asleep with a little effort?" She snorts amusedly. "She doesn't need me, but she knew when she found me how much I needed somebody like her. I'll owe her for the rest of my life."

They hit the outside, and Divine looks up into the sun, squinting. "I guess this is where I head off. Thanks again for your time, and I'll be sure to answer when you call." With a thought, she starts to rise off the ground, ascending slowly at first, giving Superman a wave before she picks up speed and zooms off into the blue.