(2014-08-09) A Mole Acclimates
A Mole Acclimates
Summary: Caitlin speaks with Emma while at the Watchtower, is consoled and help by Kara
Date: I2014-08-09
Related: http://ageofheroesmux.wikidot.com/log:2014-08-09-a-mole-extracted
NPCs: N/A
Scene Runner: N/A
Social/Plot: Plot
Players:
white-queen..power-woman..fairchild..

As the call is connected, the huge screen inside the Watchtower conference room lights up to reveal a generously-sized office, dominated by shades of white. The woman who moves into frame and sits in front of the camera's point of view is more of the same, a creamy caucasian skin tone, platinum blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and a wardrobe as pale, white and pristine as the room around her. Yet somehow there are enough shades and variations in those hues of white that she doesn't just blend into the background. She is instead vibrantly present, and completely in control.

"Good evening?" comes that cultured, posh, almost British tone of Bostonian upper-crust elegance and education. "I beg your pardon. Ms. Fairchild, is it not? I have not seen you in quite some time. When is it, then, that you joined the Justice League? That /is/ their communications channel you are using, is it not?"

Emma Grace Frost sits, seemingly completely at ease in her office, watching the video link. There is nothing about her that implies this is quite so late in the evening, or even that it is long past working hours at the school. Indeed, she comports herself as if she gets calls like this all the time, and as if she inhabits that office all hours of the day and night. "To what, then, do I owe the pleasure of your call, Ms. Fairchild?" she inquires, with that same dispassionate calm.

Caitlin Fairchild sits nervously and looks up at the screen. "Ms. Frost, I'm not with the League, but I am currently…. at one of their facilities." She tries to be careful with how much information she gives out. "Seeing as Charles has not been receiving my transmissions, then it's safe to assume that you have. My encryption is complicated but not impossible, so I also assume you've seen the information. If I am here under Justice League protection, then it's also safe to assume that the proverbial shit has hit the fan." She swallows and sits back.

She tries to take a calming breath. "Your students have been taken. Some will not be able to return. There was an incident and I'm no longer with the organization. Needless to say that I may be a target. I understand if I can't be allowed back to the school. I don't want to interfere with the children's lives anymore than I already have. I would like permission to get the things that I left in my room, assuming that they've been kept." She nods again. "I assure you that everything's being done to rescue the children who are still alive."

The very instant Caitlin mentions 'Your students', Emma Frost goes utterly, completely still. She stops breathing. All of the facial cues and microexpressions stop cold. She goes utterly, preternaturally still. And the blazing intensity of her gaze increases tenfold. Still, she does not interrupt. Oh, how she longs to. Craves it, even. But she waits for Fairchild to finish. Then she holds up a hand palm forward.

"Ms. Fairchild, I believe you can safely assume that I currently only have partial information. Which means, if you will, what you have said only makes partial sense to me." Then Emma scoots forward, staring into the camera as she dominates the frame. "And so help me every power in my being, you will explain it all, /now/. Or I will find you, wherever you may be, and rip it from your mind." Yeah. She's not feeling terribly charitable right now.

"I have two dozen transmissions, which were routed from one of Charles' accounts to my own in the last few months. I have decoded them, but found nothing actionable or even sensible about them, until one of them decoded with the name of one of my students. I have GPS coordinates. Names. Dates and times. Given what little I have found, I have pre-supposed that these are details of kidnappings, of children who were on our 'radar' to one degree or another, possessing powers. The rest of what you speak of … I do not know where you have been. What you have been doing. Nor had I any idea that /you/ were the source of these transmissions. Now … explain."

Caitlin Fairchild raises a brow and folds her arms in front of her chest, not feeling to thrilled at being threatened. She let's it go, because this woman is supposed to be protecting these students… and she just found out how utterly she failed at it. "I apologize. Charles knows the details, hence why I was only giving him pertinent information." She sighs and takes a breath. "They're an alien invasion impending. I have no other details on that. However, the US government knows about this and has come up with certain.. measures to protect the country and the planet." She says this, with a tone of voice that implies that she doesn't agree with this. "They began kidnapping metahuman teens. They're experimenting on their powers, looking for ways to extract them and give them to others, or looking for viable candidates to take these powers. They're trying to cheat at creating Super Soldiers." She swallows. "If you look up the name Project: Rebirth, you'll find absolutely nothing, as if the words themselves do not exist. Charles found a way to have me infiltrate the operation. I was to send back information on the children that were in custody. Unfortunately that ended today when I tried to thwart another attempt." She stops, letting the words hang and sink in.

Inwardly, Emma Frost is engaged in a furious lecture. It is one she intends to deliver with scathing intensity just as soon as she can reach Charles. And she intends to do so telepathically, to let the bald bastard know just how outraged she is that something this important slipped his mind and she was not told. He may not be married, but she full well intends to make sure Charles Francis Xavier understands 'cowed husband syndrome' before she is done.

"So. You were placed undercover. Your sole duty was to keep an eye on these children and do all that you could to protect them, while passing intel back to Charles on which children were taken, when and where." Emma confirms, in that frostily firm, controlled tone of hers. "And today you managed to ruin that arrangement, for some short-term benefit, leaving those children without anyone actually looking out for their welfare in a hostile environment. Is that accurate?" Emma has a way of boiling things down to what has to be the least flattering reduction.

"Your things are here, Ms. Fairchild. Per instructions left by Charles, your room has been left exactly as you left it. Our student body has not required that we vacate that room. You will need a new key, which will be provided upon your arrival. We will discuss further details then." Ms. Frost offers, with similarly cold, scalpel-like intensity. "I would prefer if you could arrange your arrival in a manner that would avoid standard detection and observation. I see no reason to needlessly alert your former employers as to your presence here, until this can be dealt with. I trust you and your new … friends … can make those arrangements?"

Caitlin Fairchild's expression goes flat. It's bad enough that she feels horrible about what happened and about what could possibly happen, now she has to face it and hear it from Frost too. "No need. I'll arrive to gather my things and then I will leave. I don't want to put the students in anymore danger." She swallows as her eyes fill up. "You'll know I was there, but no one else will. I won't inconvenience you any further. Fairchild Out." She says, cutting the transmission after that. After a few solid seconds of hanging silence, Caitlin breaks down, her face in both hands as she sobs.

As soon as the 'online' light goes out above the door to the conference room, the door behind Caitlin hisses open, and Power Woman enters. She doesn't say a word. Instead, the Kryptonian simply turns Caitlin's chair around and leans over, wrapping her arms around her, holding her and letting her cry. She has been well aware that the lovely redhead needed to expend some of these bottled up emotions, and she just wants to be sure she understands that despite that maelstrom of emotion, she's not alone.
Caitlin Fairchild stops after a couple minutes. She doesn't shrink back at the touch, knowing it's coming from Kara. She picks her head up slowly, wiping her eyes. "I.. I'm sorry. I'm a mess." She attempts to stand and straighten her dress, still leaning on Power Woman. She looks up to the ceiling. "JARVIS, could you please scan my phone? All the information I have on the organization is there. Copy the files for League use and send a copy through secure channels to Emma Frost, please? Thank you." After that she just quiets and looks to Kara. "Thank you." She says, quietly.
"Of course, Ms. Fairchild." JARVIS' cool British voice offers in response. As one might expect, the Stark-programmed AI leaves the coddling of human emotion to the female alien in the room.

Kara holds Caitlin until the redhead makes it clear she doesn't want that anymore, and then lets go, backing up to just hold her hands. "The League is comprised of six women and three men. We have plenty of tissues and everything you need to clean up and feel better. I promise." Not that any of them are obsessed with their looks. But none of them want to look a wreck when it isn't necessary, and they've all had their moments. Kara included.

"You are quite welcome. I'm not going to push at you. But if you need to talk about it, I can listen." The blonde grins a bit impishly. "I found you this evening by hearing, after all." she offers, referring to locating the incident on the streets by tracking the girlfriend's scream.
Caitlin Fairchild nods and chuckles slightly, while a sob or two may escape involuntarily. She finds a tissue and wipes her face. "Thank you." She repeats. "Please push. I can take it." She smiles lightly. "I'm not holding anything in, at the moment, but I would like the opportunity to talk.. I mean.. when you're not rescuing damsels in distress or being otherwise awesome." She looks up, her green eyes slightly bloodshot and rimmed with inflamed tissue. SUCH a hottie. "I'll just need a moment to find an apartment." She pulls out her phone and starts doing research. "I'll just go there. I can have my things from Xavier's brought over discreetly. I've taken up enough of your time."
Power Woman guides Caitlin back into her seat, and then sits in the chair beside her, turning to face the redhead. Apparently she's not moved to disgust by the swollen and bloodshot look. "Hey. Put that away, will you? We can find you an apartment later. Right now, I want to talk to /you/, not the top of your researching, distracted head. OK? Let me worry about my time, or its importance."

Kara waits until Caitlin puts the phone down, and then smiles. "That's better. For the record, I rescue damsels, dudes, and even countries in distress, whenever I can. And I don't look down on or judge any of them. So … tell me about it. How did you get started with this? Did you go to the school? Marvel Girl, one of our members, graduated from there. And my cousin goes there, now. I got her enrolled, which is how I know a bit about Ms. Frost." Yes, even Kara calls Emma 'Ms. Frost.' Pretty much no one dares not to. "Tell me about the adorable science and tech-loving redhead who become an international woman of mystery, undercover protecting children's lives."

Caitlin Fairchild sits down and places her phone on the table. She looks up into Kara's eyes, finding it difficult to not be charmed by the amazing young woman. She blushes at being called adorable, along with the rest of the woman's description of her. "Well, it starts back to before I was born. Before Charles Xavier was The Professor." She nods, wiping her face. "He was in a Special Ops team with my father, Alex Fairchild. There were.. experiments run on some of the members, including my father." The emotion in her voice gives away exactly how much she has invested emotionally into what's been happening. "It changed his genetic code. That code was handed down to me when I was born, even though he died shortly before I was born." She sighs.. "Charles convinced my mother to enroll me in the school. I spent four years there, a skinny, scrawny bookish nerd, keeping to myself. It was especially hard when everyone else had powers but I didn't. I guess Charles knew I would develop someday." She chuckles at the choice of words.

"Well, I did. Around 18.. So I was a late bloomer, and I bloomed all over the damn place. In two years, I'd learned how to use my powers, training at Xavier's while getting my degrees at Princeton. Then, when I graduated, we found out about Rebirth… and you know the rest."

Kara listens intently. Her perfect recall means she'll be able to drudge up all of this detail at a later time and start doing research to put it all together. But for now, she just listens, giving Caitlin her full and undivided attention. "So, when your powers came in, you grew taller. Body density increase, increase in musculature and curves. You suddenly went from mousy bookish nerd girl into redheaded bombshell. And while you were adapting to that, and learning to control and use the power you'd been given, you managed to finish up two Bachelors of Science degrees in two years. That's pretty impressive."

Power Woman can't help thinking how much Karen Starr and the lovely Caitlin Fairchild have in common. It's pretty amusing, really. "And so you became a secret agent for Charles Xavier. And the two of you never told anyone about what you'd found, so no one else was around to back either of you up. Until now." She's not sure how Caitlin got all of that information out on her phone, but she doesn't really need to know. She's just impressed that she managed. "You know, after this is all over, you'll need a new job. I have a few ins with several different technology firms, including Stark International. And I have it on good authority that Tony has a thing for brilliant redheads. I'm sure I could get you an interview."

Caitlin Fairchild nods. "Thanks.. I just try my best. Charles invested a lot in me and I just wanted to make sure I was worthy of it." She nods.. "And i think bombshell may be going a bit far, but thank you." She blushes as she takes her glasses off for the time being. "I'm… I'm not thinking about after, just yet. We need to get the children safe, and then on top of that, there's the whole alien thing…" She smiles and nods. "Thank you again. You've been so helpful."

"That's what friends and allies are for, Caitlin. I know that your Uncle Charles isn't here. And where he is, what he's doing is important. But you are not alone." Kara offers, smiling to the redhead. She understands Caitlin's disbelieving discomfort with the beauty of her body, and doesn't push it. Only time and life will grant the other woman the ease with her self that she deserves. "I can help you with a place to stay, if you need it. But I don't want to crowd you, either. So you make your arrangements. But if you have problems, use that phone of yours, or the earbud, and call me."

That said, instead Kara tries to help Caitlin by giving her a chance to really express her feelings, the ones all welling up inside her. "You know, what you've been doing was incredibly brave. Even with your powers and your intelligence, it was risky. And you did everything you could to help and protect those children. You had no way to know that your Uncle was no longer there taking your messages. I can understand how there would be a lot of feelings at war within you. They would be at war within me, too. If you need someone to listen, I can do that. I'm really good at it."

Caitlin Fairchild blushes and nods. "You're not crowding me." She smiles. "I.. like the attention." She looks to the woman, with the phone on the table. "Do you.. I mean.." She blushes "I mean, of course you have a place, but do you have something in mind?" She asks before looking. She swallows and then nods. "Honestly, yeah. I feel like I failed, I feel like I shouldn't have been put there in the first place. I'm worried for the kids that are there and the ones that they'll keep trying to take." She takes a deep breath. "But in a way, I feel guilty because I'm kinda glad I'm not there anymore.. and I'm glad that I met you.. So.. yeah. There's that."

The Kryptonian blonde chuckles softly and a hint of color comes to her cheeks at Caitlin's question. A bit too perceptive for her own good, maybe? A tad artless in her observations? "I have something in mind, yes. But not that. That's not what you need right now." Which is not saying no, or never. One power she does not have is that to see the future, after all. But she's not going to head down that road with Caitlin just yet. The other woman has a lot of things inside to deal with first.

"You didn't fail, Caitlin. Honestly, had you not taken the risks you did tonight, your mission could very well have failed, because the backup you were depending on outside - your Uncle - wasn't there, doing his part. I will grant you, he needed to go where he has, and do what he has done. But he didn't take someone else into his confidence. He didn't give you the backup you needed. So you did the absolutely /best/ thing. Because now others know what is going on. Others who can and will do everything we can to help. Help you. Help the kids. /And/ help the world against the coming invasion." Her ands take Caitlin's, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I'm pretty glad I met you, too."

Caitlin Fairchild blushes and releases Kara's hands so she could cover her face. "Nono! I know that! That's not what I meant! I didn't think you were hitting on me, no…" She then nods, with a nervous swallow, steeling herself. "Then we'll do this… Somehow." She says, nodding. "What did you have in mind, before I go bothering landlords late on a Saturday night?"

Kara reaches up and lightly presses one hand to Caitlin's cheek. "Shhh. Just relax. OK?" There can be something really compelling about how open and forthright Kara can be, and she's hoping it will work again, to extend calm and support over Caitlin, to relax her in the face of her embarrassment. She rubs her thumb lightly over Caitlin's temple. "I'm not very good at 'hitting on' people without my fists, Caitlin. I can assure you, if I did that, you would have no doubt in your mind. OK?" She grins wryly. "Now. My thought was to ask a friend of mine. She has plenty of places available, and I'm very sure she would be only too happy to help out. Sound good?"

Caitlin Fairchild looks up and nods. "Is she…secure? I don't want to put her in any danger.." She leans into the hand, taking a ton of willpower to not just reach out and grab hold of the woman. She reaches up to place her hand over Kara's and turns, kissing the palm. "If I'll be able to notice when you're hitting on me, then I'll make sure to keep an eye out."

Inwardly, Kara takes a breath. Later. Not now. No indulging those thoughts just now. "She's very secure. Trust me." Of course, it's obvious Caitlin trusts Kara implicitly. But she asks for that trust anyway. "Let's gather your things, and then we can go find you a place to stay. If you want, I can go up to Westchester and gather your things for you, if you don't want to see Ms. Frost again." Clearly, that call did not go well, and she has no desire to subject her friend to that again. Instead, she just helps with gathering and carrying things, as they make their way back down to the zeta beam transport pad. "JARVIS. Two to beam directly to the Embassy, please." she calls out. Caitlin might notice Kara has a new earbud in place.

Caitlin Fairchild nods and stands, gathering the clothes, the phone and the earbud. "I'll take care of my things at Xavier's, thank you. I'll have no one fighting my battles for me. Not even you." She smiles and follows Kara to the pad, ready to go. "Thanks, JARVIS. Talk to you soon." She winks. Eventually she let's go of Kara's hand, making sure it doesn't interfere with the transport.

"You are quite welcome, Ms. Fairchild. Activating Zeta beam transport. Destination, Themysciran Embassy." comes JARVIS' British voice. Then a flare of blue-white light, and the high-tech gleaming edifice of the space station dissolves around them, replaced by old-world charm as towering doric columns and real stonework take their place. Soon enough, their appearance will be welcomed by some of the women on staff at the Embassy, and Kara will stick around long enough to personally introduce Caitlin to the Ambassador and Princess herelf, before taking her leave, promising to come first thing, if Caitlin calls. "Just remember: I applaud bravery, and fighting your own battles. But you never have to fight alone, or go somewhere without backup.

Caitlin Fairchild nods and smiles politely at meeting everyone. She turns to Kara as she leaves her with parting words. She takes the woman's hands in hers and leans in, kissing her lightly on the cheek and whispering in her ear. "You're not alone either. I'm available when *you* need to talk, as well." She says before backing off and letting go, waving to the departing goddess.

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