2013-01-25 Superboy has that effect on people

It is a peaceful day in New York, cold at 22 degress farenheit (or -6 celsius, depending on your preferences), modest amount of clouds in the sky, but the sun still shines through a little over half the time. Central Park is just starting to clear of the lunch crowd, so it is a pretty good time to be sitting in the middle of grass, looking at the clouds, and contemplating life.

The last part, enjoying the day, her jacket wide open, the light shining down on her as she ponders her existance is exactly what Caitlin Fairchild is doing. A large duffle bag is acting as a pillow, her hands under her head, as she stares at the clouds slowly drifing by, considering all that she's been through in the past years, and more importantly all that has happened in the past few days. Occasionally she pulls out her phone and sighs, "Come on Superboy, prove your a man. A girl gives you her number and you're supposed to call. It has been a full day." she pouts a bit, "Guess I came on a bit to strong. Hope I didn't intimidate him?"

There, in the clouds, as Fairchild daydreams, she'll see a red and blue streak across the sky coming up from the south. A United Nations conference begins shortly--a closed session discussion on terrorism--which Superman will be attending.

Whenever the Man of Steel comes to the Big Apple, he tries to indulge himself in one of their world famous soft pretzels. New York is known for many things, but Superman's favorite is something simple.

He lands in Central Park, with no coat, hat, or gloves. Ma Kent would throw a fit. The man at the stand looks up to see a large 'S' emblem in front of him and his eyes grow wide. "One pretzel, please. Are they still three dollars?" Superman asks with a smile.

Ahh Central Park, a place where one can go to let their worries fade, or in Hercules case a place to wander aimlessly looking for a good time. Wait where is he again? A bit far from his protected borough of Brooklyn. As he continues to trek across the large park, he stops and spy a familiar face, at least she looks familiar. I mean after all, he remembers it vaguely after seeing it soon after he was punched through a wall.

With the lunch crowd gone, and the sight of the streak, Caitlin sits up, smelling those soft pretzels too. She checks her pockets, immediately putting away the limited credit line card from SHIELD, knowing that one, it is for specific approved payments to help her with her new life, and two, not really for getting snacks on. After a second she comes up with a crumpled ten spot, and smiles, slinging her dufflebag to her shoulder and striding over, "Put the man of steel's pretzel on my tab, and I'd like one too." she ponders a moment if she should ask about... his family member... Superboy was a bit vague on the exact relationship, but 'like brothers' could mean they're not actually blood relations. She tries not to blush, especially considering the shirt she's wearing... sure Superboy liked it and approved, but Superboy may not have the authority to officially approve, "If that is okay with you, sir?" looking to Superman, cause he is known for not liking to take rewards and gifts on principle.

Superman turns and smiles to Fairchild, "I appreciate that...honestly, that's very nice of you. But I couldn't possibly accept. Thank you so much for the offer..." He reaches out one of his hands toward her. "I'm Superman." He hasn't always liked the name that was given to him a few years ago by Lois Lane by the Daily Planet. It seems he's overcome the original apprehension about the name.

Perhaps the visage of the 'punch dream' was not entirely what he saw that day. As he watches a grumbling in his stomach cries for food and drink. Yes the pretzels would be fine, but sadly being a place surrounded by children it is not likely his drink of choice is sold. With a shrug and an ever present smile, the Prince of Power continuers on his way through the park in desperate need of a beer.

Blushing, Caitlin takes the hand, giving it a firm shake, something she can almost never do due to powdering metacarpals, but she has little fear of making mush out of the Man of Steel's hand. She tries to clear her throat and nods, "I know... I mean, I'm Caitlin Fairchild. I met your... um... Superboy yesterday, when he..." she pauses, and remembers that she swore not to mention his little accident during flying practice, "When he needed someone to hold a billboard up straight, while he carefully spot welded it back in place." yeah, it's not a lie, and just skips the part where Superboy's mishap caused the billboard to start to fall... of course it also skips the part of how she got to the rooftop, but it isn't really that important, "I was actually sort of curious if, well..." she brushes a stray lock of hair from her face, "Maybe he'd mentioned me, or if you'd spoken to him and new why he hadn't called me? The pretzel was just sort of a way to maybe loosen your lips?"

Superman chuckles a bit and shakes his head. "You met Superboy, did you? Her certainly has a way with people." Read: Women. "Unfortunately, he and I have not spoken in some time, but I would be happy to pass on that I met you, Caitlin Fairchild. And it sounds like he was lucky you were there to give him the assist." Superman notices Hercules as he approaches. He's defintely noticeable, but Superman does not immediately regard him.

Nodding, there is a bit of sadness in her eyes as Caitlin smiles, "Yeah. Well, I'm sure he would have been fine without me. He seemed more then capable on his own." she ponders what else she can stay, after all, Superman is basically Superboy, only taller, stronger, and more mature, in a more revealing and colorful outfit. She looks back as the vendor is holding the two pretzels, and really not caring who pays, either way he can brag Superman stops in New York just for his product, and either way he gets his money.

Caitlin, being at a loss for words, puts the $10 bill down and asks, "Do you have those real sugar sodas, not the high fructose corn syrup junk? The Man of Steel deserves a quality beverage with his pretzel, right? If you please?" then looking to Superman, "Please, I insist. You probably do more for the planet in one day then all but a handful of individuals will do in a three or four lifetimes. Consider it a small thank you, and a slight bribe to put in a good word with Superboy that I'm not a giant intimidating girl, but just a sweet young lady who lacks the petiteness of supermodel."

Superman chuckles and shakes his head slowly, "I get the feeling that if I say no, you'll be pretty forlorn." He purses his lips for a moment, "Alright. I'll accept it, but more as a gift than as a bribe. If you and Superboy have something going, that's between the both of you. I tend to stay out of his business. At least that part of his business."

Caitlin takes a deep breath and nods, "Well, he'd have to call me for there to be something. We just fixed the billboard, he flew me to some place away from prying eyes, we talked, he mentioned not knowing his cell number so I gave him mine so he could call me, and then he left me on a parking garage rooftop and flew off." she shifts her weight to one foot and sighs, "I guess I can understand him getting busy, but sometimes when you're waiting for a call, it just seems like forever until it comes." she takes the one pretzel from the vendor, her dollar change, and one of the two real sugar sodas, "I hope I'm not keeping you from anything. I know your time is important." a bit of odd Deja vu, wasn't it Superboy who was worried about keeping her from whatever destination she might have been headed to only the day before?

Superman shakes his head, "I have to be somewhere shortly, but I have some time." Superman shrugs his shoulders softly. He doesn't know what to make about Superboy not remembering his cell phone number. Could be genuine. Could be an attempt at secrecy. Could be an attempt at evasion. "I suppose the only thing you can do is focus on other things. If he calls, he calls. Getting worked up and thinking about it will only make it worse. Either he calls and you spent way too much time thinking about it. Or he doesn't and you've just tortured yourself. Either place is no place to be."

There is much wisdom in the statement, and so Caitlin nods, "Yeah. Just recently been trying to get my life back in order, have a semi normal life, or at least as normal as possible for me, and I guess havign missed out on half of my teenage years, it was sort of nice to do the worried about the guy calling thing, almost as much as the idea that a guy would be calling me." she smiles, "You might want to eat the pretzel before this weather turns it into a pretzicle. Great weather for keeping a drink chilled, lousy for having hot food."

Superman chuckles a bit as he looks at his pretzel, "Good thing I have heat vision, I suppose." He nods, "Look, Caitlin, I don't know you and I don't know what you've been going through. But what I will say is that sometimes it's important to get our own lives in order before we worry about other ones. And while I don't know you, I can tell you that from experience."

Central Park is the most well-known natural area in the world. Visitors flock here every year to visit the large, 300 acre park in the center of Manhattan. Everything from running trails to baseball games is available here for recreation.

Popping the cap off her soda with just her thumbnail, Caitlin takes a swig and lets the cold drink run down her throat before nodding, "Yeah. I really do need to get my life in order. Thanks for the advice." she ponders a bit, snacking on her pretzel, figuring soon enough the Man of Steel will have to go back to saving the world. She does however have one thing cross her mind, "Um, could I get your autograph." reaching into a pocket on her duffle and pulling out a t-shirt identical to the one she is wearing, except it has Tony Stark and Pepper Potts signatures on it, with Pepper's being across the top line of the S.

Superman nods, "Absolutely. He sets his soda on the ground and puts the pretzel between his teeth. He takes the t-shirt and looks for a sharpie of somesort. Then he scrawls a readable signature on it, and puts a little S with shield on it. He hands it back to her. "It was very nice to meet you, Caitlin Fairchild."

Taking back the 'S'ignature shirt, Caitlin smiles, "Thank you sooooo much." tucking the shirt safely back in the side pocket of her duffle bag. Maybe this means Superman doesn't mind her fangirlism, nor the unique variant on his emblem on the shirts she bought. She then goes back to sipping her drink and eating the Pretzel, content in the advice he gave her.

Superman smiles and gives a nod, "You're welcome. Thank you for the pretzel and for the drink." He gives a bit of a wave as he picks up the bottle. As he straightens, he begins to float. Giving her one last nod, he heads east in flight towards the United Nations building.