1469/Fresh New Faces

Fresh New Faces
Date of Scene:	01 May 2020
Location:	Bullpen - Daily Planet Building
Synopsis:	Moral of the day: Don't talk about Sweden!
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Kara Danvers, Lois Lane

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Look! Over there! Who could that be? Capable of leaping over deadlines in one bound, faster than a speeding powerpoint bullet point in one of Perry's company emails*? Is it a bird**? Is it a plane? No, it's an intern! Terry O'Neil, to be precise, who is making his way towards Lois' desk at a speed that might be considered reckless and dangerous, if Clark Kent were within sight because it would normally increase the chances of a collision. Fortunately, though, Clark seems to be somewhere else at the moment and thus speeding on the fast lane is permitted.

"Miss Lane!" Terry says as he rounds up to Lois' desk, coffee cup in hand as the due offering to pacify the goddess of scoops and which is her birthright by the holy rite of 'dibs', "I've got a scoop for ya! Troia of the Titans is /actually/ Wonder Woman's sister, and I'm going to interview her about it!"

He does not say this in a loud voice, however much he wants to announce it in proper capitals and bold font, because he knows all too well that if you have a scoop, you have to be /very/ careful who overhears you until you grab that scoop and fling it hard at the page, so that it sticks.

Okay, so maybe he's been craving ice cream all morning...

*Footnote: Perry tries, dear god he tries, but getting him to send out attachments had been a feat in and of itself for ITs. The fact that he had not mastered Powerpoint and that his bullet-points tended to race across the page at such a speed as to risk creating an alternate timeline was another fight to be fought- but not by IT.

**Footnote: Who the hell gets that excited over a bird? Really?

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara herself doesn't have a desk, unless you count that bench in the mail room where they put her when they run out of intern tasks for the day. But the Daily Planet is a modern office, and some of its reporters work remotely when they're on assignment. When that happens, she prefers to find an empty desk and sit at it. Today, she's chosen the desk of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent not all that far from where Lois is.

She's sitting with the sports section of the Daily Planet wide open before her, reading some article an injured footballer's chance for returning to his team later in the year. Her blue eyes squint through the thick-framed glasses she wears, and her arms are folded before her as she reads the paper with her nose less than two inches from the page.

Terry's announcement draws her attention and she looks up at him curiously. Then she freezes, eyes flicking nervously from Lois to her fellow intern. Was she meant to be on a coffee run? No. No, she's pretty sure she isn't ...

Lois Lane has posed:
"Well, that'll be an interesting one then. You might want to ask about their relationship a bit, especially if they grew up together at all. People really like knowing about that sort of thing. Fascinating stuff." Lois, of course, accepts the offering of coffee. She lifts it up to take a sip. Speaking of family relationships...

She notes Kara's general direction, offering a wiggle of fingers towards her. There's no reason for it. Probably.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh, don't worry, I plan on getting all the things! You know- Wonder Woman gave me her cloak?" He says with a large, bright grin. He will not mention the fact that he fainted when he received the relic. He does have his pride, after all. "I also got you those files you asked me to ge--" he notices the wiggle and looks over his shoulder. "Oh... am I interrupting?" Quietly. "Is she here for an interview? Does she need a cuppa?" his tone is conspiratorial.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara returns the wave to Lois, though her expression remains sheepish - as though she's going to bury her face in her arms any minute and hope to disappear. She tries to get back to reading the newspaper, making sense of what she's reading even if she's long since mastered the Latin alphabet. But then she's being spoken to, and she slowly lifts her head to look at Terry, then Lois, then Terry again.

"Oh, no. I am Kara," she offers, her voice thick with an accent that sounds vaguely ... Swedish, maybe? It's unclear, "I work here. Also as a coffee acquisitor. Did you say you met Troia? I am jealous."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois smiles at the both of them. "Terry, Kara. Kara, Terry. You can help each other out if you want to make sure you don't end up in the hospital for multiple days and miss work." Lois flashes Terry a look and a not-angry-but-concerned expression. She looks back between the two of them. "Kara is Clark's cousin."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The redhead brightens, "Oh! How nice- Kara, that's a lovely name." He strides towards her, one hand extended by way of introduction. "I'm Terry O'Neil, and don't believe anything she says about me- I've only been in the hospital /twice/ since I started working here which, as I understand it, is below average for the position." He gives Lois a teasing smile before turning his attention back to Kara. "Are you from... what was the name?" He's heard Lois name the place once before, maybe, "... Tinyhouse? No, that's not right..." he looks at Kara for help.

Kara Danvers has posed:
As Terry approaches her, Kara momentarily puts on a facial expression that is something like intense concentration. She extends her hand, giving it a wary look, and then performs the handshake. Her grip is a little weak, but judging by the broad smile on her face and the lack of crackling bones she seems more than satisfied with that.

"No, I am not from Smallville," Kara answers with a shake of her head and a furtive glance at Lois, "My father and Clark's are brothers but they lived very far away from each other. Until we moved to Metropolis last year."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois glances between Terry and Kara, then nods at the latter of the two. "I thought I'd check in with Clark about his family since I was curious after our last conversation. Family history is pretty interesting, huh?" She very casually turns her gaze back to Terry. "I don't think you mentioned any of the prizes you've won for journalism. How many did you have?"

It's not a mean smile, it's just an 'I'm your boss and I'm going to be hard on you' smile. "Just need to spread out your absences. Pick your battles."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, I've won the Yowitzer Prize for best concussion of the year while on the line of journalistic duty, and the Princess Peach Peabody for being rescued by a costumed hero. Special mention for bullet wound." He sets down the coffee cup on Lois' desk, "But I am also going to win the Back To Good Graces Award when you taste this." He nudges the cup a little. "This is Raven -from the Titans- her special selection. She wouldn't even tell me where I could buy it without first training under a waterfall and fighting a bear. It guarantees such a transcendental experience that you might find yourself haunted by the ghost of Thoreau."

He glances at Kara, "Welcome to Metropolis then, belatedly. I thought I noticed an accent... you've lived abroad? Whereabouts?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara doesn't answer Lois' query, though it definitely registers. Her eyes widen a little, magnified more so by the large glasses she wears. She looks at the newspaper again, considering hiding behind it, but it's probably far too late for that now. But then she's talking to Terry, and the young woman breathes a sigh of relief. Only to choke on it when Terry asks his follow up question.

"Sweden," she says quickly, just grabbing the first country that springs to mind, "I am from Sweden originally."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois glances towards Kara, raising an eyebrow about the country of origin. She doesn't say anything, but turns her attention to Terry as she takes a sip of her coffee. "This is good. I approve of Raven's taste. Not sure if it's ghost-worthy but I certainly feel like it's worth another cup or two." She winks. "Just stay out of trouble, Terry. Perry will have my head if I lose any more interns. He doesn't want any wrongful death lawsuits."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, I bet you money that I will not be in the hospital again for the rest of the year. Loser pays lunch for a month?" He grins, and the redhead seems to brighten even more at Kara's response.

"Sweden! Oh my god, I'd love to go there someday. You know, I am a card-carrying member of the International ABBA fan club- have you ever been to the museum? Oh, you're going to have to tell me all about it... and you're working here now- hey, you'd like to meet Troia? I have an invitation to the Embassy, maybe you can come with me when I go interview her?" he turns to face Lois, "I mean, if that's okay?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
"I - um - it - " Kara continues to try and speak, even as Terry is. But she doesn't quite have enough to say to try and speak over him. So she just kind of sits there nodding dumbly, letting her eyes pass from Lois to Terry and back. She glosses over the stuff about Sweden, while making a mental note to visit and learn about it since apparently she is from there now.

"Yes," she says, eager to get off the topic of Scandinavia, "I would very much love to meet Troia if Lois is okay with it, though I also have to look at some warehouses so I understand if there is no time for that ..."

A pleading look cast Lois' way and a very subtle shake of her head.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois raises an eyebrow. "I tend not to bet against people who are /entirely/ convinced they'll win--usually it means they've got an ace up their sleeve. It's suspicious." She gives Terry a look, something akin to looking into his soul. Satisfied, she looks away. Perhaps she already knows all his secrets. She turns away, however, glancing between Kara and Terry.

"There's no rush on the warehouses, though I'm certain you'll be able to hand whatever's thrown at you. If you're especially interested in meeting Troia, put some of the warehouse story on the backburner. It's not going anywhere, as far as I can tell. I'll leave the balancing of your work in your capable hands, Kara."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"This will be fun!" Terry declares, since Lois did not expressly forbid it. He finally hands Lois the folder he has been carrying all of this time, once the offering of coffee ritual was done, "By the way. these are the copies you requested. I'm afraid they aren't very clear- Gary changed the printer cartridge and for some reason everything has this strange green hue to it."

To Kara, he adds, "So I guess you're here in Metropolis following your cousin's footsteps, in a way?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara's furtive look towards Lois has a definite not of 'whyyy?' before she smiles happily at Terry, putting on her most appreciative and looking-forward-to-it smile! It's hard enough that she's trying to join the Titans, but they don't know her secret identity and she doesn't quite trust her acting abilities enough to fool someone she's met as Supergirl. Oh, Rao ...

Terry's question prompts a high-pitched laugh from her, forced and complete with panicky eyes. It's enough to cause a nearby reporter at his desk to turn around, cover his phone with a hand, and glare at her.

"Oh, sort of, yes. I always thought journalism sounded very interesting. But I do not even start at Metropolis University for a few months. I still have a lot of time to decide what I want to do."

Lois Lane has posed:
There's something called a trial by fire, and Lois is currently subjecting Kara to it. The fire is also called Terry. "Clark has some great footsteps to follow, and that's not coming out of my current bias. It's coming from someone who's worked with him for more than ten years and seen his talent. He's also got the best work ethic I've seen in a person."

She offers them both a wry smile. "And on the biased note he's very sweet even if he lets people step on him far too often. Not literally." Usually.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And that was the day that Supergirl learned the origin of the expression 'To be Terry-fied.' This is not true, but it is plausible in any case.

"Yes, he has such an impeccable ethic. I was looking at some of the old articles of his in the archive the other day..." he chuckles "Man, can you believe that his first article came out when I was six years old?"

Almost as if he were unaware of what it was that he just said, he adds, "I should get over to the Tower and see if I can pin Troia down for a date and time for that interview. Once I have that, I can let you know when it's going to happen. Maybe we can go eat something before the interview, and you can tell me all about growing up in Sweden!" he says to Kara, reaching for his keys in the pocket of his jeans.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Have fun, Terry!"

Kara waves as the man departs, quietly praying that he forgets all about her when it comes time to arranging the interview. She peers down at the newspaper again, flitting over a page before closing it with a sigh and putting it back in the tray. She can't learn about football at a time like this!

Rising to her feet, she looks as though she's making her own way out of the bullpen. She takes the moment she spends passing Lois to notice her shoe is untied and bobs down to tie it, muttering quietly as she does so to the queen of reporters.

"Clark told you about Sweden?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Glancing over towards Terry, Lois nods. "Right, yeah, six. I forgot how much of a--" She cuts herself off with a smile. "Young person. Keep up that vivacious attitude, it'll get you far." She gives him a small shoo'ing motion. "We all know why you're /really/ going to the Tower. Say hello to Gar for me." She offers him an innocent smile.

She glances down at Kara. No one pretends to tie their shoes and says something without that something being significant. "Clark told me about his family and how he was raised, but he didn't go into detail about Sweden, exactly. We mostly talked about him."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"It's not going as well as you'd think-" Terry admits on his way out, looking back at Lois over his shoulder, "But details on that can wait. I'll tell him you said hi. It was a pleasure mee-" and there goes Kara, tying her shoe. "-t you, Kara. See you soon for the interview!"

And with that, hurricane Terry has left the building.

For now.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"We probably will need to talk then," Kara says gravely, still glancing up at Lois from where she kneels to tie up her shoe - which she has done and undone a couple times now, "Sooner rather than later would be better, yes?"

Then she rises up to stand again, tugging the front of her shirt to straighten herself out a little bit. She then offers Lois a big, toothy smile that almost screams 'please don't tell my secret' before she cranes her head to watch Terry depart.

She pauses a moment, then makes for the stairs instead of the elevator.

Lois Lane has posed:
"A conversation would be nice, though don't worry yourself too much," Lois offers Kara a kind smile. "Although I do look forward to chatting!" It's an honest-sounding statement. She does seem interested indeed. She watches Kara's retreat, head tilted to the side just slightly.

"Huh. Sweden. Should've asked Clark about Sweden."