2013.04.30 - Still Got a Legion

The request left on Marya's omnicom, tagged as from Cos, was that she get some takeaway, her pick, and that he'd get takeaway dessert, his pick, and they better pick something the other might like too, or someone's gonna be sad. And then to meet him on the roof of the small Steelworks building, not too far from the warehouse where the Legion's currently camping out. There are, however, rumors of base-shopping soon. Or possibly base-raiding since there are enough wretched hives of scum and villainy.

/If/ she shows up, she'll see Cos in costume, finally, much darker than she'd expect to see it, to go along with the much longer /hair/. He's being good and NOT digging into dessert first. But he's clearly considering it, standing there on the roof and holding the back up at eye level. "I *will* get to eat you. I will. You will not melt before I eat you."

Hmm. Well, what would this Cos like? Marya Pai really didn't quite know, so she'd hunted down some Chinese takeout and brought that with. Hey, it was her cultural food, and hopefully the man appreciated it! Who didn't like Chinese food? Regardless, the woman appears only a little bit behind schedule, having run into some long lines at the takeout. It happens sometimes. She lands, her dragon cape shifting in the wind as she does so. Even when she's still, the dragon seems to move along the cape.

"Hey there Cos. Hope you like Chinese takeout. I got a variety pack, as I wasn't sure which were your favorite," she admits. She was never good about remembering things like that.

Marya was dressed about the same as she'd been before. She pretty much liked her costume, and didn't often head out without it anyway. It wasn't like she existed in this time anyway, so she didn't have a secret identity to hide. "How are things going with you? I'm still trying to settle into this time. I don't know quite as much about it as you do". And she's trying to adjust to the fact that her team is actually alive again.

"So I really /am/ a nerd in every version of myself I've heard of," the older Legionnaire says with a wry look. He takes out a couple of multiply-wrapped canisters from the bag and looks entirely too proud of himself as he sets them down, then sits down himself, legs crossed tailor style. "Frozen horchata. It'll probably taste a lot more like what we're used to back home. Totally better, though. I'll have to bring the recipe back with me."

All through this, he hasn't quite been meeting Marya's eyes. Now, though, he leans his elbows on his knees and sits forward a little bit, watching her with a mix of analysis and concern. She might have seen him giving that look to people he's never met before that he's worried about. "--about that. Do you... know we're all from different timelines? Mostly? Some are similar."

"There's nothing wrong with being a nerd. Someone has to be the smart one, and I'm not the most brilliant strategist on the planet," Marya responds casually, setting the food down and starting to pull it out of the box. "Sounds good to me. I still like the home cooking, and without flying back to China, this is as close as I'm going to get to it". She shrugs a little. "I guess I've got a small advantage, being from Earth and all. Plus China hasn't really changed that much. It's a stubborn country". Well, relative to the rest of the world, it hadn't changed much.

"Yeah, I figured that we're from different timelines. If we weren't, you would be dead right now," she says rather directly, but with a hint of disappointment in her tone. "Pretty much anyone here would be, in fact. Far as I know, I'm the only one from my timeline. I know some are similar, and some are different. I think mine might be the only one where things have gone as bad as they have though, at leats in the immediate term".

The disappointment's met with an apologetic look: he knew confirming that would let her down, and now he's not looking at her again, just for a moment. He's making himself a paper plate of a little of everything. "I've seen-- an inordinate number of our alternates, our potential timelines, our universes. I don't remember all of it. But I do know that whenever things look dire for the Legion, when it looks like it might all be over, the days of dreaming of a better life for everyone done-- even when it looks like we're all dead? We're not. We don't stop. The Legion's bigger than its members, or even its memories, as long as those memories are."

He looks up, finally, plate full, curling lo mein around a pair of chopsticks. "And it doesn't matter how lost we are, or how far from home, or how hopeless we think things are: we're Legion. All of us. All across the realities, the timelines, the Earths. So when you get stuck someplace like this? And you don't get your resolution, you get swept off before you get the end of the trouble and find out everyone's alive or will be and you think you're alone--"

Cos shakes his head. "You're not. You've got a Legion with you, even if it's not your first. And you might get back home to your first. Can't tell yet. So yes: I'm Cos. You probably know someone a lot like me, or potentially even interchangeable, but-- I've never met you until in the park." This last? This last was matter-of-fact, but his blue eyes are locked levelly on hers, and his face is-- somewhat trepidatious, actually. "I'm sorry. I mean, you can trust me as well as *your* Cos, we're all more or less the same. Except the crazy ones. You can tell they're crazy because they think beards are a great idea."

"I was a bit worried that might be it," Dragonwing responds, working on her food. "I haven't done much time hopping myself, to be honest, and this is certainly the first completely different dimension I've been tossed into". The woman shrugs and takes a bite of her meal. She could tell that his previous words were a lead-up to letting her know that she wasn't going to know anyone here, or rather nobody would know her. She knew that stuff about the Legion. It was one of the reasons she'd signed on with the Legion Academy in the first place.

"What's happened back in my timeline, I have to accept right now that there isn't anything I can do about it, not right now. Maybe I'll learn more here and be able to do something about it when I get back". If she ever got back. That was always somewhat in question, now wasn't it? "But, I suppose that means I have a pretty clean slate here, doesn't it?" she adds. No baggage from the others, at the very least, but no credit in the bank either. Nobody would know if they could trust her or not.

"I suppose that means I should probably give you the whole demonstration bit about what it is I do. You need to know that sort of thing". Because Cos was the leader, and he did better when he knew what his team was capable of.

She was keeping it buried, but she was still shook up about the fact that her relationships with everyone were pretty much one-way. In a way, it might be odd for the other members of the Legion. Usually they knew the stuff about other people in the past, but here was Dragonwing, who knew things about them and came from some other timeline or universe. Of course, some of that might be wrong. It was hard to tell, at least until she met everyone.

And then there -is- Cos, who seems more than ready to trust her at face value. He points his chopsticks at her Flight Ring. "You don't really have a clean slate. You're already Legion. That doesn't go away. As for the rest of it--" he shrugs. "I've been trying to get everyone's stories, because that's as important as a power demonstration. Knowing what makes you unsteady and what makes you flinch, knowing what makes you overconfident-- they're all things I have to worry about if we get hit." He gives Marya a crooked grin. "And it's a two-way street. I'll tell you anything you want to know about me. Aside from that-- sure! A power demo's always fun. You wanna finish eating and then go someplace we can't do any damage?"

"Sure," Dragonwing responds. "As for me? Well, compared to everyone else, I've not got much experience. I pretty much got my ring when everything went belly-up. I've actually had this ring longer in this universe than I have in my own," she explains. Yes, Cos. You effectively have a brand new member cropping up. "I'm from Earth originally, so at least this is sort of home, though China is a little different than New York City," the woman offers before taking another bite. "As for what gets me unsteady?" The woman pauses to think about that. "I'm a burier. Something bothers me, I tend to shove it deep down and let it burn away. I'm also a bit cynical, once I'm adjusted to things, and I won't lie. I bend the rules sometimes, though I don't go snapping them". She's remembering lots of the comments her Cos had given her at times. It seemed only fair to let him know these things.

While Dragonwing's been talking, Cos has been shovelling Chinese food into his mouth unapologetically. By the time she's done, he's basically hoovered it all down and begun making a trash bag out of empty plate and empty cartons. "Fair enough. Hell, we've even got a Legionnaire who's not a Legionnaire yet. Luornu got dropped here *before* the forming of her universe's Legion. She's like sixteen." He pushes one of the cups of frozen horchata in Marya's direction and gives her a wry smile. "A Legion in twencen'll probably be right up your alley. Rules are a little more fluid. If you *do* end up bending rules, or even accidentally snapping them, let me know just so I know what I'll end up responsible for if anyone finds out." Then he stands up and brushes himself off, making an absurd sound with his straw as he slurps from the middle of the cup. "Just don't kill anyone, or I -will- get mad, because I hate having to run trials and I don't want to kick anyone out. Not so far from home. And if something bothers you that's big enough-- Imra can help, or I can. If you want either of us to. I know she's really young, but she's already been doing this for years, and she's had everyone die on her, too."

Finally, Rokk holds out a hand, an offer of help up or a handshake, it could be either and doesn't matter which. "We can put leftovers in the fridge if you're done for now. As far as *I* go... if she were of a mind to, Imra could sprock me up but good. If an XS shows up, I'd like-- I'd like you to keep an eye on me regarding her. If it looks like I might be coddling her or being too hard on her, please. Divert me. It's my problem, not hers."

Finishing off her meal and the horchata, Dragonwing slips the trash back into the bag. She was used to eating quickly. "Nah, I got no leftovers," the woman says as she accepts the hand, standing in the process. "Will do," she adds in respond to his request. The rest just gets a nod from her. She had no problems killing, but knew the rules and abided by them. She rolls her shoulders lightly as she looks around the area. "I'm not all that old myself. Only eighteen," the woman points out. So age wasn't going to be an issue for her.

"So. You know an out of the way place?" she asks. She hadn't done that much exploring yet. Some, yes, but not a ton. "Oh, you too, huh? Okay. She's your age," Rokk says cheerfully. "And yeah, I actually know a bunch. I've had half a year here to poke around." He keeps hold of Marya's hand as he lifts off lightly, glancing southwest. "I was thinking the Pine Barrens. South Jersey, miles and miles of not much but evergreens and scrub and bogs. Oh, and by the way, I haven't been Cosmic Boy for about ten years-- so Cos or Rokk'll do me. Are you liable to set things on fire?"

"Yes," Dragonwing responds. "If I aim towards something flammable". If what the definition of flammable included...most materials. "Yeah, that's what I'm used to, Cos or Rokk". The one in her timeline wasn't young anymore either, so that codename didn't work particularly well for him there. She flies casually along with the man, her cape shifting in the air and that dragon moving with it. "So, somewhere fairly open or durable would be best. Not a lot of wood that would be a fire hazard," she suggests.

"And, yeah. Still young. Just graduated and all. Has advantages, but it'll have some disadvantages, too. Won't be allowed certain places, I'm betting, Not at my age".

"At eighteen?" Rokk sounds dubious, and when they're both in the air, he lets go and just holds on to her with his magnetism. Sure, flight rings. But coasting the Earth's own fields is faster. "You can do just about everything but drink alcohol in the US. Uh, and a couple of other places. I don't care if you do as long as you don't get caught by anyone who gives a sprock." Sidelong grin, and then they pick up speed. "Pine barrens aren't a great idea, then. We'll go to part of the shore that's been condemned since the last big storm. So-- a graduate, huh? Legion Academy? Ours didn't last too long, it was a UP media thing. I'm glad it worked in /one/ universe, anyway." He glances aside at Marya. "Does the Cos where you come from have kids?"

"Well, it's worked well enough so far," Dragonwing responds, letting Rokk pilot, so to speak. She wasn't all that used to flying under his power, or at that speed. "I know, okay, need to come up with some sort of designation. DW-Cos. That will work. Anyway, DW-Cos and I weren't super close. Age differences, me being in the Academy and him doing the leadership thing. Still, I worked with him some before I graduated. Don't think he had children, or if he did, nobody told me about it". It wasn't something that she was really paid that much attention to. It just wasn't something that mattered to her. Maybe she should have though, in retrospect.

"...DW-Cos, heh," the leader says, half-grinning. "I like that if it makes me Cos-Cos. No, you'd probably know if he had kids. Doesn't matter, really, anyway." The benefit to flying with Rokk is that even at this speed, you don't end up eating bugs or having the wind steal away your words: it's shielded, like an invisible bubble. "You have any family? Oh hell, I don't even know your real name. Do you give it out?"

Yeah, I've got family. The usual. A sister and parents," Dragonwing says. "As for my name? No reason not to give it out here. It isn't like I'm actually born yet, right? I'm Marya Pai," the teenager comments. A grin is given. "And you can be Cos-Cos if you like," she adds casually enough. "So, what's your universe like?" she asks. "I'm guessing that most of the people I know from my class aren't in your timeline," she admits. Yeah, that was a little weird, but it was alright.

"Marya, then. The people you know from your class are probably in my timeline. At least some of them. There's only a few cases I've seen where there's no duplication whatsoever." Cos slows them down a bit, midair, and lowers them, so as they approach the shore the details become visible. Countless houses, half-eaten by the sand, some of them partially underwater, some of them partly or almost completely gone. The beaches are strewn with wreckage and detritus, and it's chilly with salt wind from the sea, despite the sunshine. "My /universe/? It's... not really there right now. Everyone got out, as far as I know. My Legion's spread throughout the multiverse, and pretty much the only way -our- band's getting back together is if the Time Trapper manages to collect us. Here, this should do." He lets them down slowly, halfway between the waterline and what used to be a street.

Thinking for a moment, Marya considers. "Glorith or Chemical Kid ring any bells?" she asks Cos. She suspected not, but it was worth a try. They were the ones she spent the most time around, at least lately. "Oh," she adds. That seems a little worse than what was going on at her place, so to speak. "Wow, that's rough. I'm sorry". Now she feels bad for complaining about her lot in life.

She lands neatly enough, having grown accustomed to flying in her own time. "Well, this is the demo". The woman takes a breath, tilts her head upwards, and exhales. A large jet of flame roars out of her mouth, illuminating the sky. She keeps this up for about half a minute before she closes her mouth, the flame disappearing. Smoke curling out from behind her mouth, the girl looks to one of those larger wrecks. She opens her mouth again and a jet of green liquid flies out, striking the wood and eating right through it.

The woman then reaches into a pocket and pulls out a package of breathmints, popping one into her mouth.

"-- uh. Glorith does, yeah. And I unofficially know about a Chemical King, but not a Chemical Kid. Might be the same guy, dunno." For all that the man's universe is so broken its inhabitants fled to other realities, he doesn't seem especially worried about it. What he *does* look is impressed. His eyebrows are *up*, and he's standing there in that feet-apart, arms crossed stance he usually adopts when officially watching something or other. "That's... damn, girl. Remind me not to get in your way. The Academy give you Legion basic combat training?"

"I actually sort of know two Gloriths..." Rokk says absently, listening and half-remembering, then focusing again. He gives Marya a quick flash of a crooken grin. "Awfully useful even against living things if you're working with your team. *Very* useful if you're being shot at. Here, let me see how you do against moving targets." A piece of battered roofing lifts from where it's half buried in the sand, and Cos curls it in midair until it looks like a missile. "Watch your six, Dragonwing." And yeah: it comes flying right at her.

Dragonwing would make a comment about the Glorith thing, but then Cos is putting her through a bit of impromptu training. Her eyes narrow in focus as she slips easily into a defensive stance, not quite sure what all Cos was going to do. The woman opens up her mouth and lets fly a solid blast of fire, incinerating the target as it hurtles at her. Roofing wasn't that durable, and it's burnt badly enough that only ash and tar fall to the ground. A moving target that was coming right at her wasn't too much of a problem for the woman. However, she does glance about in case Cos was going to send more targets at her.

Only one other, and it doesn't come /at/ her so much as has a go at whipping past her in front of her face, starting in her peripheral vision. It's a shard of twisted piping. In the meantime Rokk's conversing. "I'd tell you to attack me, but we'd need a spotter. So if you like we can spar later. I need to take the measure of everyone else, anyway: I only know where a few of us are at. Cursory? You're fine. But you knew that." A pause while he watches her deal with it, and then he adds, "Our Chemical King... his powers were gradually eating him. He wasn't a Legionnaire, he-- well. Lyle looked after him."

The shard of piping that goes flying past her is basically ignored once Dragonwing determines it's not actually going to strike her. There was no need to defend against something that wasn't going to actually hit you or anyone else, so she saw no reason to expose herself to an attack. She was very deliberate in her movements in a fight, and didn't want to waste energy against non-threats.

"That makes sense. I don't have any sort of superhuman strength or anything, but I'm stronger and faster than most," she agrees once the attack is over. "I didn't really know Chemical King. Retired before I came onboard," Dragonwing explains to Cos. So she didn't know his story terribly well. That was the problem with youth. They tended to not always know what came before them.

"Huh. And you said DW-Cos is the leader-- who's deputy?" the Braalian asks, crouching down to sift through the sand for a minute. "How long's the Legion been around? Or at least-- did it start in 2957, 2973, 2994, or 3003? Or-- do you know who inspired your Legion? Kal-El Superboy, the JLA and the Titans, or Valor?" This is all somewhat-- like maybe he knows a little too much, even for a historian. Even for Cos. "Did Imsk and Braal have a war? And... wait, did Glorith /graduate/ the Academy?" He straightens up, holding a dried sand dollar, which he flips like a coin toward Marya.