Owner	Pose
Qira Quest	It's been six months or more since Conner last heard from Qira. She mentioned a breakthrough in her case and going to hunt down a lead.. and that's the last he got from her. UNtil today. His phone vibrates (or sounds) with an incoming text. When he checks it, he'll find a familiar-looking text style Batburger at 7pm? My treat. - Q If he shows up, he'll see a familiar figure hanging around outside the Batburger, the white hair is longer, down to her hips these days, kept tied back in a simple tail. The weird green-gold eyes are brighter than ever, and she's stuck to the baggy street clothes that offer her at least a modicum of anonymity. She'll upnod at him, moving forward, "Hey. Uh. Sorry. For... disappearing. Took longer than I expected..."
Conner Kent	It has actually been a year since Conner last saw Qira. The odd message here and there wasn't much to keep in touch, and the truth was he though she had found a better way so spend her time. Maybe she found what she was looking for. There were a dozen messages from him in the app after her last one. He gave up a month after her last response. And now this. Well, sure. 7 pm gives him more than enough time. He is tempted to ask for her life, but he is not as impatient as he used to be. He can wait. Conner has not changed much in the past year. He looks 20, maybe 22. And still wearing leather jackets. "Hey there," he greets, offering her a smile, "no worries, I am glad you are still alive and well."
Qira Quest	Sadly, Qira hasn't grown any taller, and she's still whipcord lean from all that training, but she at least shows some signs of having gotten older. She clears her throat and offers a quick, brief smile towards him. "I... learned a lot. About myself. About what happened during the missing time. So... you know. It was worthwhile at least." She shrugs lightly and rubs at the back of her neck, "Anyways... I shouldn't need to do that again. So... I thought you'd want to know. I didn't mean to just leave you hanging like that. I had to ditch my cell phone somewhere safe.. just got it charged back up before I texted." Qira glances to the restaurant and back to him, "But... if you're hungry. My treat for dinner? I kept that music player you gave me... it... it helped. When things got bad. So. You.. you helped."
Conner Kent	Conner opens the door of the restaurant for Qira, "I am never hungry, but I like to eat good food, lets get something." He does have questions, but better wait to be seated. "Good thing you got your answers, too," he adds. "I have been busy with college, but also... well, some interesting things happened. I met more Kryptonians, and we got them out of the bottle where Brainiac put them. I have been helping to build a colony in another planet."
Qira Quest	"Good enough for me," Qira gives a nod to thank him for holding the door, stepping inside and heading towards the counter. She glances up at him as they walk, offering a brief smile, "You found more family. That's good. I'm happy for you." Stepping up to the counter, she orders a Batburger Deluxe meal, no Jokerizing the fries and drink, getting iced tea for the drink. Looking to Conner, she waits for him to order before paying for the food, stepping aside so they can wait. "So are you commuting a lot off planet? Could I see the colony, or is it like.. Kryptonian only?" Qira keeps her voice down so they aren't drawing attention, curious.
Conner Kent	Conner orders a small burger but double fries and a giant-sized soda. He probably likes fries too much, but it is not as if he needs much more than sunlight. Balanced eating is for other people. "I don't think it is just for Kryptonians. In fact, several humans, well... metas and mutants, really. They helped quite a bit with the project," explains Conner. "And Kryptonians really need to meet other people, I think there was a huge isolationistic problem in Krypton in the years before it was destroyed. I got some bad vibes from it. Apparently useless politicians and fear mongers are not just a problem in Earth, and supertech can't solve all the problems of a society." He pauses, "but the gateway thing we used to travel to New Krypton is in the pole, so it is not exactly open to tourism just yet. Give them a few years, and maybe."
Qira Quest	The order comes up and Qira grabs up the trays, offering Conner's to him before moving to find them a booth to take up. She slides in on one side and sets her tray on the table. She glances at him and murmurs, "I could get there on my own, but it would probably be better if I showed up with someone already familiar with the place." Unwrapping her burger, she takes a large bite and chews on it. "So... I'm sure you have questions. I'll answer as best I can, I don't have all the answers. But I have enough."
Conner Kent	Conner nods. Of course he has questions, but. "Just tell me whatever you want me to know. It has been a year since I saw you, and I am just good knowing you are okay. I like the hairstyle, by the way." He munches a handful of fries and then considers, "well, tell me if you are safe, too."
Qira Quest	She smiles faintly and tucks a lock behind one ear, "Thanks. And... yeah, I'm safe. Or as safe as I can be. Pretty sure I'll still be on a hit list or three if the League finds out I'm alive. But... otherwise, yeah. I'm alright." Qira pauses, trying to figure out what to tell him. "So.. I think I told you I died, right? Like... what, six years back now? And I lost four years before I woke up in the swamp outside of Gotham." She lifts a shrug, "Turns out, I got Lazarus'd. Not sure how familiar you are with any of this... it's.. not super well known. There's certain places around the world where... people have a chance to.. be revived. It's dangerous, there's a lot of risk... but it's possible. And it confers certain... abilities.. with it. If you survive the process, anyways." Qira glances up at him, "So, after I was Lazarus'd... I got taken to a lab in the swamp outside Gotham. And.. my genes were tampered with. Changed. I'm not strictly human anymore. Apparently, the intent was to make a... a better assassin. Which, I mean.. it worked. I was kept, like a very deadly toy. Kept in a sort of coma until needed.. then awakened and sent off after whoever the target was.. then recalled, wiped, and put back into a coma." She looks towards him and lets it sit for a few beats. Giving him a chance to respond if he wants.
Conner Kent	There is a gradual shift in Conner's expression that goes from relaxed and enjoying his fries to frowny, to worries and finally angry. He knows of Lazarus pits from the Outsider files. But he knows about genetic tampering and putting you into the freezer to be used as a murder machine later from personal experience. "I see... who did this to you?" He asks, voice dangerously low. No more fries for now.
Qira Quest	"Nobody that you can do anything to. His name was Dr. Wyatt Granger. Geneticist and all around terrible person. He did work for the League, which is how he managed to find out about the Pits. Apparently he helped to create me in the first place.... for the League. Then he got pissed when he realized his 'greatest creation' was going to be so much fodder for someone else... so he made sure he was in a place to be able to get me when I was killed." Qira pauses and clears her throat, "He's dead. Cancer. It's why I woke up in the lab. He'd been put into hospice when the cancer got too bad... and the drugs keeping me under just... ran out." She lets out a breath and shakes her head, "Never got to confront him or anything. Just... found out he was dead. Traced it all back across the last six months or so... chased down one lead after another... ended up in a cemetary, cursing at his grave." Looking back to Conner, she lifts a shrug, "He was using me to make money to fund his experimental genetic tampering so he could try to beat the cancer. It got to him before he could."
Conner Kent	Conner leans back and sighs. That is karma in action, he guesses. "Well... at I guess you can put all that behind you now. There is the League of Assassins, but they believe you died four years ago, so they are not looking for you and they don't do much in America." He offers the girl a lopsided smile, "I guess now you have no excuse not to try a normal life."
Qira Quest	"Working on it, anyways. I'm still pissed that I can't... I don't get any real resolution on it. He just.. died." Qira frowns faintly around a few fries before finishing them off and looking back to him. "Except Gotham. And Gotham is still home. Or at least the closest thing I have to one." She lifts a brow at him and smiles faintly, "And how am I supposed to do that, hm? No family, no home, no id of any kind..." Teasing him lightly. He'll have answers.
Conner Kent	"That is how I started," replies Conner. "And, hmm, then there was fame, loads money, adoring fans and friends. Only the last one is necessary, really." And some cash is always good, but his bank accounts are pretty dry nowadays, he can't help much. College is expensive. "I can probably help you get a legal ID," he offers. "And maybe a job, but that is harder without more documentation. Maybe you should to go school?"
Qira Quest	"Yeah.. I don't see myself in some spangly costume saving the day..." Qira chuckles softly and leans forward over the table, flicking a glance towards him. "And robbing bad guys sounds way easier and more profitable than some bullshit burger joint job. Doesn't require an id, either." She quirks a faint smile. "I still don't think that 'normal' is ever going to be part of my life." She picks up her burger, then motions with it, "School requires documentation, too. Besides, I know plenty. I learn quickly, school would just slow me down. Mostly I just... I think I want to be around... people.. more. Try to get used to it."
Conner Kent	"School is good for that," points out Conner. "Better than a job, really. Besides, if learning is easy for you, you can concentrate in finding friends and having fun. I starting college because I wanted some of that. Live like a normal human. It was a good idea." Except maybe for the part of making lasting friends. Because he had to lie about his identity, and really, he already had some very good friends in the Outsiders. But Qira is different, she has nothing yet. "I don't recommend relying on robbing, even if the targets are creeps. Sooner or later you are going to get caught, and those folks tend to be vengeful. You might be able to handle a few thugs, but they might be angry enough to hire a dangerous super-assassin like Deathstroke."
Qira Quest	"Still requires me to exist as a person, Conner." Qira shakes her head, pausing to sip from the iced tea, then looking back to him. "And making friends is not what I'm looking for. You push really hard for me to just be some normal person. But that's not possible. I'm *not* a normal person, Conner, and no amount of pretending will make it so." She munches a few more fries and points a few at him, "Lazarus Pit. Even if I get caught by someone like that... good chance I'll just come back anyways." Qira smiles faintly, "I'm working on what I can. I'm trying. But there's only so much I can do."
Conner Kent	"I told you I can help you get an ID," notes Conner. "Possibly an ironclad one, if I can get Robin or Oracle to help." He finally goes back to his fries. Better get them before they go cold. "Look, I am telling you what I did; six years ago I pretty much was where you are now. You take out all the dumb things I did, and it gets down finding good friends and build a life you like. What are you looking for, anyway?"
Qira Quest	"It would have to be more than ID, Conner. Birth certificate, social security number... it would be... complicated." Qira lifts a shrug and offers, "Not saying it can't be done. But... to what end? Did you really make a lot of friends in school? Having to lie to them all the time, having to constantly dip out so you could go do superhero stuff? Seems like a terrible way to make friends." She shakes her head and glances down, "I'm not sure. I just figure that living alone out in a swamp, not really being around other people... probably not a great way to live."
Conner Kent	"I tell the truth to my friends," he offers. But yeah, he eventually got all those documents himself. Except the birth certificate, since Hawaii authorities weren't sure what to write there. Still, birth certificates are no necessary. "Living in a swamp alone doesn't seems like fun," he agrees, "too many bugs and I bet the Internet connection sucks. Move downtown, get into a social club or something. Eh, I can advice some, but it seems you want to try other things. That's okay too, just be smart."
Qira Quest	Nodding, Qira smiles faintly, "That doesn't answer my question. So I'm going to guess that your friends weren't made in school. From hero'ing, right?" She shrugs lightly, "I'm no hero. But I'm also not a regular person, and I can't expect to live like one." "Eh, the swamp itself isn't terrible, but it's the lab I was.. recreated in. It doesn't exactly have the same facilities a house does." Qira lifts a shrug and adds, "And the trek into town to do laundry is... rough."
Conner Kent	"Well... yeah, some," although not all of them. "Look. No one is expecting you to do anything. But you are not happy how you are, right? So try something else. Start again, or for the first time. And quit robbing, it is a bad habit." And he can get her a mountain bike for the long trips to the laundromat. Maybe for Christmas.
Qira Quest	"I'm not... anything.. right now. I'm not sure I would recognize it even if I were happy. I just know that where I'm at now is... not what any sort of... uh, balanced? person should be... at." Qira shrugs and pushes her fries around the tray a bit. "You know, usually, only like.. villains or weirdos live out in the swamp by themselves." There's a small smile as he mentions again that she should quit stealing from the bad people, "No promises. It's good money, and they don't need it in jail. But... you know, maybe if I get somewhere... better.. I won't need to?"
Conner Kent	"If you don't know if you are happy or not, maybe you need a shrink," comments Conner, smirking faintly. "At least you don't hate your life, but I guess you should explore a bit longer. Not having a major goal in mind after so much effort investigating your past can be a little disorienting, I imagine. Hey, I come to Gotham most weekends, we can meet for breakfast on Saturdays, and maybe I can introduce you some other people."
Qira Quest	"Oh yeah, that's going to be fun. They're either going to think I'm one of the crazy villains, or they're going to think I'm just flat out crazy. 'Hi doc, I was created in a lab, raised by assassins, sacrificed to someone else's rite of passage... but it's okay, because I was brought back to life from a magic pool of goo, then genetically altered and used as an assassin some more.. but now it's all over because my creator is dead and I could really use a hug.'," Qira lets out a small laugh and shakes her head, "Not saying you're wrong... but good luck finding a shrink that could handle all that." Glancing up, she lifts both brows, "Yeah? I'd.. I'd like that, I think."
Conner Kent	"Gotta be someone that is used to those stories," comments Conner. "Particularly in Gotham, city of all terribad stories." He finishes his fries and starts with the burger, munching thoughtfully. "Or maybe leave Gotham for a different city for a while? I suspect Gotham's air makes people depressed, maybe nutty. Vacations in Metro or NYC might be good."
Qira Quest	She shakes her head and glances at him, "I get what you're saying but... the only people I know are in Gotham... and you. The atmosphere here doesn't bother me. Besides, I'm not sure I would be able to pass for human in the bright light of day outside of Gotham." Qira lifts a small shrug, "The eyes, the hair, the skin... I'm not really..." She rolls a hand around and offers a small wince.
Conner Kent	"Clearly you have not seen what people looks like in the Village," jokes Conner. "Who else do you know in Gotham? I thought Batman was bullying you, so that doesn't count." Batman bullies everyone, though, he is no exception. "Is there anyone here you really want to see again?"
Qira Quest	"Batman helped me gets the clues that lead to the breakthrough. He's... tough.. but he understood what I was trying to do. Uhm... I know Damian. That's.. complicated. I've met... a few others.." Qira shrugs and glances aside, then darts a glance back to Conner. "Knowing them is better than not knowing anyone."
Conner Kent	Conner doesn't know who 'Damian' is but imagines Qira maybe does indeed have another friend. Not Batman, even if he 'helps' the Batman way. "To be honest, it is better only if you want to see them again, if they offer you something else than grief." Which is the prevalent mood in Gotham most days. "Anyway, drop by NY anytime, I'll show you the city."
Qira Quest	Qira finishes up her meal and gives a nod, "I think I do. They don't give me grief." She glances at him and half-smiles, "Could always take me back with you when you come out for breakfast. Show me this city of yours, and I can go back to Gotham after." Lifting a shrug, "If you want. Otherwise... I'll see you Saturday."