15426/No really it's a perfectly normal cosmic anomaly. No need to be alarmed.

No really it's a perfectly normal cosmic anomaly. No need to be alarmed.
Date of Scene:	21 July 2023
Location:	Lobby - GIRL Headquarters
Synopsis:	Emily finally gets to visit GIRL and Vivian Vision gives her a tour. While also preventing the front desk security staff from having panic attacks.
Cast of Characters:	Emily Roberts, Vivian Vision

---

Emily Roberts has posed:
    Older, wiser, no less suspicious of the circumstances but perhaps just giving less of a damn, a casually clothed Emily has finally wandered her way into G.I.R.L. HQ almost two years after receiving an invitation.

    This alone causes a minor kerfuffle at the security checkpoint, the officer on duty having to dig back through records to double check that an invitation had in fact been given in the first place. But it's when she steps through to the full body scanner that the trouble really starts.

    She isn't really bothered by the security officer's request for her to wait just a minute, she has no point of reference for what the normal process looks like after all. But the hushed-but-urgent whispers into a communication device begin to paint the picture that perhaps all is not well.

    Beginning to fidget, the redhead turns toward the stone-faced security officer and raises a hand. "Hey, uhh, is everything-"

    "Ma'am, please remain where you are and make no sudden movements." Whatever the problem is, security is taking it seriously. And in the back of her mind a voice whispers to her that perhaps her suspicions that the invitation had been too good to be true were justified after all.

    Visibly tense, Emily frowns, glaring at the poor security officer even as she makes sure to keep still. Seemingly unwilling to make a bad situation worse. At least, not yet.

Vivian Vision has posed:
GIRL security is slick, efficient, and prepared for the weirdest and wildest of situations.

But when you deal with research helping superteams like the Titans or Avengers you have to be careful! It's not uncommon for supervillains, evil alternate universe doppelgangers or weird groups from the future to try barge in to kidnap people or prevent research. And the weirdest the energy signal the more cautious the response.

Even people on the invite list have to be checked out if the scans come up certain kinds of weird. Thankfully in addition to having excellent security the building also has excellent coverage on it's scanning systems. And ever since N.O.W.H.E.R.E tried to kidnap her Great Aunt Nadia the synthezoid teenager Vivian Vision has kept a very close eye on those sensors.

So at the first sign of trouble she can simply appear. Phasing through a wall, dressed in her usual green and yellow ensemble, plus a lab coat & clipboard. (Because she was doing SCIENCE! naturally)

She glances between Emily and the security team. Then gives a little shrug. "It's okay Gentlemen she's expected," she notes calmly. "If you could please hand over a visitor badge so I can give Ms Roberts the tour?"

She gives Emily an apologetic smile. "I am sorry for any concern the wait may have caused you. Would you perhaps care for a cup of tea or coffee before the tour?"

Emily Roberts has posed:
    Emily does a double-take when Vivian walks out of a nearby wall, though the relief in her expression is blatantly obvious. Still, she cautiously looks between the synthezoid she attended a year of High School with and the security guard checking her over. It still takes a few more seconds for the guard to finish whatever they're doing and hand over a visitor's badge, but finally Emily is free of security and can heave a sigh of relief.

    Vivian gets offered an awkward, but thankful, grin. "Vivian! You have *no* idea how glad I am to see you. I was starting to worry this was all a prelude to being disappeared or something." There's the faintest hint of *something* in her voice that suggests there may still be an iota of suspicion, but the synthezoid's arrival has obviously set most of her building fears to rest. "It's... been a while, huh? Uhh, no thanks on the tea or coffee. I don't really drink either of them."

    While far more relaxed already, there are still some obvious nerves present. Though more likely ones caused by running into an old classmate she'd never gotten particularly close to and hadn't talked at all to for a long time. It's an odd mixture of comfort and discomfort, a lop-sided grin on her lips while her shoulders remain slightly tensed.

    Stepping closer and giving her old schoolmate a once-over, she nods her head "Dig the coat by the way, don't think I ever saw you in a lab coat at Happy Harbor. Defs suits you! So uhh, how've you been?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Disappeared?" Vivian repeats. Blinking a few times. It's entirely for effect, her eyes having no need to blink normally, but it helps to convey her surprise. "If we were going to disappear people would we really use a building with a pink and purple logo you could see from a mile away?" She pauses a moment and then grins. "We also have soda, juice and I think there's some of the experimental super high calorie milkshake for superhumans. Each glass is about equal to a full days food for a typical Human. It's strawberry flavour."

Perfect for when speed force guests stop by. Although even they have to consume it by the vat to meet their energy needs.

"I have been well. I graduated high school, which was never really in doubt but it was still a relief when all the results came in, and now have a place in New York with my old room-mate. Where I make art and cook." Both of which were her high school hobbies. Often the girls dorm was the testing ground for cookies and cakes she was working on. "I've also been doing some crime fighting on the side. When work allows. And of course I help out here as much as I can. I've been working on building myself a synthezoid pet canine. Although he's still not ready for going on walks outside the lab." There's a beats pause. "And no before you ask I'm not making a lab in the lab. I'm making a Scottish Terrier."

Emily Roberts has posed:
    That Emily lifts her fist to cover her mouth in no way helps hide the high pitched little snort that escapes her as she forces herself not to giggle at the terrible (SO GOOD) pun. After taking a few seconds to control the trembling of her shoulders and shuddering of her chest, she voices with audibly repressed excitement "I'm more of a cat girl myself, but that's damn cool! I figure if it's like a personal project you'd prefer to figure it out yourself, buuuut if you wanted a hand I could probably be convinced to help if I could get a cool little robokitty afterwards..." The last few words are voiced in a playful sing-song voice, suggesting that she's not *entirely* serious about needing to be paid for her help like that.

    Before she can get lost in the excitement of talking SCIENCE! with someone who knows their stuff, she refocuses on everything Vivian has said *prior* to the awesome revelation of coolness. Nodding her head in concession, Em shrugs a single shoulder and admits "Okay, so, maybe it was a bit silly to think I'd be disappeared. But you make one little explosion, cause a minor blackout, and then suddenly one of your idols shows up at your home and apparently knows all about your garage particle accelerator, makes it very clear that 'you aren't in any trouble' and then gives you an invitation to a science group specifically for girl scientists? You can see how that might seem a bit spooky, right?"

    Sighing and shrugging again, she continues "So while you were doing all that stuff. Fighting crime, doing science, becoming an artist...? I just got to graduation as quietly as possible then uhh maybe-fled-the-country on an OE." She coughs into her hand to try cover how awkward she feels about fleeing the country, then clarifies. "That's a... I think it's called like a gap year or something over here? Didn't do any crime fighting or anything either... wait, is *that* why the security guy stopped me? Did you guys detect the like super power thing I've got goin on?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
There's a pause as Vivian frowns. "I don't see a tail....?" she notes. "Or do you mean you like cats more than dogs?" There are weirder things in the world than half Human half cat people. And just because your records don't mention someone has animal mutant powers doesn't mean they don't have them!

"It's not a robot dog," she explains. "It's a synthezoid canine. So built like myself except a pet dog. A perfect replica of canine function. It does mean the technology is too advanced to share with anyone else. So sadly I won't be making pets for anyone else." Because giving out the secrets to phasing through solid matter is probably unwise. Especially when combined with a felines tendency to go do cat things like disappear into the night and never come back.

"It doesn't seem at all spooky or weird to me. But my baseline for what is considered normal is.... uh.... not."

She gestures around them. "I am taking a break from education right now myself. Janet said I didn't need to go to college unless I wanted to." She motions for Emily to follow her. "Lets start with the tour? We can go through the low security areas and some of the labs." The low security areas are still pretty wild. All manner of personal projects like long range transportation gateways, personal mech suits, and bio-engineered plants that grow so quickly it's visible to the naked eye.

Emily Roberts has posed:
    "Oh, yeah, I'm not a catgirl as in a girl with cat features. I just like cats." There's a bemused little smile on Emily's face as she ponders the confusion, before one edge of her lips tugs up just a little higher and she teases "Hope you're not disappointed."

    Dutifully following the tour, along with making excited ooohs and aaahs where appropriate (because SCIENCE is fucking RAD), she tries not to let herself get too distracted to properly maintain her side of the conversation.

    She allows a few moments of silence to pass before finally finding the words to express herself. "To be clear, I know you didn't mean a robot dog. Since, I mean, *you* aren't just a robot, and if I thought a synthezoid dog was just a robot dog that'd kinda imply I thought *you* were just a robot" The redheads face pulls into an unhappy scowl. "I'd never want to suggest that, so, y'know, hopefully there was no offence caused? I just mentioned a robot cat because I'd only *want* a robot cat. An *illusion* of a real cat but with the security of knowing it won't actually plot my death like a real one would." She snorts at her own joke, before bumping her shoulder against Vivian's "But if it's super top secret I defs see how you wouldn't be able to have me working on it. Honestly, engineering isn't really my forte anyways. But if you need any non-top-secret physics help for the project defs let me know, yeah? And you definitely have to bring it over for a visit to show it off once it's done!"

    She pauses once more, distracted by seeing yet another cool sciencey thing, before mutting "Well, not that I've found a definitive place to live yet. So I guess I need to figure that part out first."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"If I wanted to hang out with a Human feline I'd spend time at the Avengers Mansion," Vivian points out solemnly. "Or Titans Tower. There are cat people at both locations! I do not really mind if people have powers or not. So long as they're not here to make doomsday weapons or to try take over the world...." They have enough problems with people making doomsday weapons by accident...

There is plenty to ooh and aah at on the tour. There are plenty of tech companies which fit slides for adults that would kill to have the sort of carefree vibe that GIRL has. A place where research is a passion not a job. And people turn up every day because they want to be there.

"I've got several GIRL members helping out," she notes with a grin. "It's not so secret no-one can help it's just.. not something people can take the documents home for. Never mind prototypes. SPARKY is already mostly built he's just... I'm finding it hard to balance his canine instincts with his synthezoid powers. It's inconvinient when a dog jumps up at you. It's deadly when it can phase increase it's density by an order of magnitude. Imagine an anvil dropping on your lap unexpectedly."

Emily Roberts has posed:
Wincing and shaking her head, Emily commiserates "Ah, yeah, see, working out the kinks is by far my least favourite part of that kinda stuff. That's why I don't reaaaally do a lot of engineering. I'm happy with throwing together a rough prototype that barely works, but I don't want to waste the sheer amount of time it takes to polish things and get them to the point of being useful, y'know? I'd rather leave that part for literally anyone else." Her cheeks flush a little, and she looks a little sheepish as she admits "Which is probably why I shouldn't have tried to use a half-arsed particle accelerator I built in a garage. But hey! At least I got neat powers out of the deal, right?"

    Even if the tour has been (relatively) low security stuff, Emily is obviously terribly impressed by everything. Though also a little regretful. "Man, I wish I'd come for the tour *before* I left the country. If I coulda been playing here for the past year I can't even *imagine* all the cool shit I coulda accomplished. So uhh... how do I, like, sign up, or whatever? Is there an interview? Nadia kinda implied your head of security already did a background check but I guess after two years that might be out of date."

    Taking another moment to admire all the cool shit around her, she shakes her head in slight awe "God, I don't even know where I'd even start if I had *half* these resources. Not like I need to build my own particle accelerator anymore if you guys already have one. Guess I could try figure out how I gave myself super powers? That'd probably be useful to replicate..." The readhead trails off into a mumble, frowning as she goes over all the possibilities for awesome science stuff.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision blinks a few times. "Oh if my Great Aunt asked you to come then you're pretty much a member already," she points out. "And if the Black Widow did a background check on you... uh... she's probably kept the records updated. So long as your time away from education was spent on this planet. And if it wasn't... uh... she might still have information. She's sneaky like that."

"There's no reason you can't start doing science now and make up for lost time. We have particle accelerators which won't even explode unless you try really really hard too." She can't/won't say they won't explode ever. Because GIRL members usually take that as a challenge.

"Just start with something that inspires you and work for there. If you need to actually /build/ something and it'll cost money then submit some research material to justify the cost. Then either Nadia will just give you a bunch of money or we'll get Janet to approve funding from Pym Industries probably in exchange for a percentage of any profits the invention might bring in." She blinks a few times. "I'd recommend not selling a reliable way to give someone dangerous super powers though. We don't want that sort of thing becoming commonplace because then every goon in Bludhaven will shoot death rays from their eyes and it'll make the commute to GIRL a nightmare."

Emily Roberts has posed:
Emily pauses in step and ponders aloud "I've never tried shooting them from my *eyes* before..." She leaves the remark hanging, hoping to get some kind of rise out of Vivian before finally having to admit "Well, they aren't really death rays. Or death anythings actually. Or even rays for that matter... just kinda glowy balls of energy that don't even hit harder than my punches. Still, point taken! Though I didn't really imagine it'd be something for public use."

    She resumes walking, but only makes it a few steps before her brain catches up with something else Vivian said. "Wait wait wait wait, rewind. The head of security here has a name like 'The Black Widow?' That's not spooky at all." The redhead stares in disbelief, before slowly shaking her head and muttering "Wild..." She snorts, one corner of her lips twitching up into an awkward grin. "But I guess if I really was gonna get disappeared I already woulda and there's nothin I woulda been able to do about it huh?"

    Once more taking a long look around, she eventually refocuses on her Synthezoid guide. "Still seems a bit too good to be true, y'know? But I guess nobody ever got anywhere interesting by not taking risks. And I mean, we might not have talked much at Happy Harbor... not that I really talked to *anyone* at Happy Harbor... but I always thought you were a total sweetheart. So, if I can't trust you who can I?"

    She nods decisively, throws back her shoulders and lifts her chin, and offers her hand for a shake. "Emily Roberts, newest member of GIRL at your service! Do we get to pick our own code names?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision tilts her head. "It makes it very easy to aim," she opines. "You simply look and blast. Which is part of the reason it'd be a terrible development!" Her tone is so even it's not even clear she's teasing until she winks. "Glowy balls of energy is a start. You could probably test your own abilities in safety here too. Try develop your powers and figure out ways to control them better. Understand how they work and what your potential is."

They do have blast proof labs after all.

"My Great Aunt and Ms van Dyne both go by 'The Wasp' and Doctor Pym and Mister Lang both go by 'Ant-Man' so... is a spider codename really any weirder for the head of security?" A beats pause. "She does not turn into any sort of spider before you ask. I would not want you getting any arachnophobia induced nightmares as a result of idle speculation."

Best to leave out for now that Ghost Spider is a member too and has actual spider powers.

"If you are looking for downsides.... You missed out on my Great Aunts asteroid base birthday party. We had Dazzler play the event. Built a huge transparent dome out in space just for that." She beams a smile in response to the compliment. "I like to think I am very trustworthy and not just because I can encrypt my memory to prevent even myself from recalling information if needed."

She laughs. "Oh you don't /need/ a code name. We might go on adventures but we're not a superteam who fights crime."

Emily Roberts has posed:
    Emily's science brain really only ended up focusing on one part of Vivian's entire response.

    "Encrypt your own memory... so like, you can have a memory that is completely inaccessible to anyone including yourself, except I imagine you could totally set up conditions in advance where-upon once they were met it would unencrypt the memory making it available to you only when those conditions were met? That kinda stuff?"

    The redhead stares into space for a few moments, obviously imagining the various possibilities, before blurting out "That's so frikkin cool!"

    Giving Vivian's shoulder a playfully accusatory poke, Emily mock-grumbles "Why weren't we friends years ago? If I'd known you were so awesome I woulda tried way harder to do the whole friendship thing at Happy Harbor!"

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Yes exactly like that," Viv confirms. "I can also split my mind into subdivisions to allow me to multi-task on thousands of things at once. I'm not limited to Human standard cognition. I suppose if I linked myself into enough external processing power I could create as many copies as myself as required. Not infinite of course. And the power requirements would be huge.... But it's more of an engineering based limit that of the mental process."

Not that she'd want to have billions of herself to talk to. That might get a little much.

"I guess we just moved in different social circles?" she says with a shrug. "Also I was in the dorms while you were, it appears, at home making a particle accelerator. Which I imagine took up more than a little of your time."

Emily Roberts has posed:
    Emily's cheeks flush at the reminder of her failed particle accelerator, and she looks away to try hide the embarrassment. "With my Grandparents, yeah. Though I blew up Grandpa's garage right before the school year started. But uhh, yeah. I guess I'm not the most social, y'know? Not that I don't *wanna* be it's just, there was always so much fun research to read, experiments to do, things to learn. Talking to people never really felt important." Her embarrassment fades, and she looks down at her feet as she admits "At least until I graduated and... there was no school forcing me into human contact. I... guess I never really realized how lonely that could be."

    Shaking her head to dispel the negativity, she offers Vivian a smile. "But uhh, no time like now to fix past mistakes hey? So uhh... shit... how do people even do this? Do I just ask if you wanna be friends? That feels kinda awkward. But uhh, y'know, if you wanna hang out and talk science sometime... that'd be cool? I'll be sticking around NYC even after I move out of my Grandparents place since that's where I'll be going to Uni. Uhh, college. So uhh, y'know, geographically convenient too!"

Vivian Vision has posed:
"I think that's one of the best things about GIRL," Vivian muses. "By bringing together people with shared interests, many of whom have diverse backgrounds, it provides a social support network as well as the scientific support. Sharing ideas, learning from each other, and collaborating on projects is how we built ourselves an FTL spaceship. Which you should totally get Nadia to show you as soon as possible. Because it's very cool."

And what physics lover can resist a super science FTL drive?

"I am always happy to make new friends. I live in New York now. My former room-mate and I have a place in the Brookstone Apartment building. You are welcome to stop by to hang out. Especially if you are willing to sample some of my culinary creations. My senses are unlike Human standard. So it helps to have an organic perspective on the flavour profiles. For example it turns out there is a difference between a nutritionally perfect quantity of salt and the most pleasing when consumed."

"You should try find time to meet some of the other members too. Kara's knowledge of Kryptonian science would likely give you a unique perspective! And Harper is a wonder of an engineer so if you need help building anything I'm sure she'd be happy to help."

Emily Roberts has posed:
    Emily's eyes almost glaze over at the mention of an FTL spaceship. She blinks a few times, are those *tears*? Opening her mouth to respond... nothing actually comes out, so instead she just nods her head emphatically. Yes, she will most definitely have to get Nadia to show it to her as soon as possible!

    Doing her best to move on from that gigantic revelation, she tilts her head and taps her chin "Y'know, I'm more than happy to try out free food. Just uhh, fair warning, I might not be the most representative test subject? I'm kiiinda a picky eater. I think I just, like... taste bitterness reaaaally strongly, which is kinda why I just don't even touch coffee. But uhh... if you take that into account then you can probably safely have me test *some* stuff at least? And show me your art. I don't really know anything *about* art, but like, I'd like to think I know cool stuff when I see it?"

    "Speaking of food! And uhh... I guess also potentially meeting people..." The redhead's nose crinkles slightly at the thought of the latter. Wanting to make friends and feeling comfy doing so are two very different things. "This place have a cafeteria? I could defs go for some food."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"I make a lot of cakes?" Vivian suggests. So long as she avoids coffee cakes and sticks to sweet treats that should be fine! "I've cooked for alien needs before so that should not be a problem." Pro tip. Never serve chicken wings at a birthday party attended by a bird alien. It's considered quite the social blunder. Never mind the ramifications for interstellar diplomacy. "We do have a cafeteria. I have found that ensuring an adequate supply of interesting varieties of cupcakes to bring out at key strategic moments helps to distract people when talk moves to subjects like 'could we make our own GIRLZILLA Queen of the monsters'." The answer being yes, yes they could. Hence the distractions.

"We have all the facilities you could imagine. Enough there have been some sleepovers held here. If you include the wider Pym Industries campus you can probably access a gym and maybe even a masseuse." Is there a spa too? Who can say. Possibly yes. But if there is it might be part of Janet's office. You never know with Pym Particles which household object might contain a miniature marvel of micro structural engineering.

Emily Roberts has posed:
    "I *do* like cake..." Emily's statement is almost mumbled, distracted by thoughts of GIRLZILLA. "Y'know, you could just let them create their giant monster while we build an awesome giant Mecha to defeat it. We could sell tickets to the fight even... uhh, or, I mean, cupcakes are good too." Blushing slightly, she seems to realise the direction of her thoughts was a little crazy. Still... a gigantic Mecha *would* be fuckin rad. And maybe useful one day if a giant space monster invaded the planet.

    "Let's uhh... let's get going to the cafeteria before I get distracted planning how to make an atmosphere capable FTL spaceship that transforms into a giant robot." Despite saying that, her rather specific choice of words and the way her eyes seem to stare right through Vivian for a few moments longer suggest that it's perhaps a little late to avoid that distraction.

    A quick shake of the head in an unsuccessful attempt to dispel the thoughts, and Em finally just shrugs and offers the synthezoid a sheepish grin. "Right, cafeteria! Where you can tell me all about the cool stuff you've done, and I can bore you with the mundane details of what it means to be Emily. Let's go!"