| Cake | |||||
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| What: Molly Hayes and Karolina Dean are offered something quite extraordinary. | |||||
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It's a surprisingly late morning in Soho, New York City. The shopping district is intermittently a bustle with shoppers and hipsters, but the today... the streets are unusually bare. Still, the stores are open despite the lack of people. It is here, just near a large parking lot, next to a small park, that we find Molly Hayes and Karolina Dean taking a stroll. They are unaware of what's heading their way, and merely enjoying the unusual quiet, enhancing the loveliness of the area.
Why did Karolina take Molly out for a walk? Well, Molly was perfectly capable of taking herself out for a walk, for one, but 'lina had wanted to spend a little time with, well. Molly tended to feel like a younger sister to her. So she may just be heading towards one of the many ice cream shops in Soho. In spite of the temperature outside. As for enjoying the quiet? Not so much. Have you met these two?
"So, um... Molly. How have you been? Like in the past week?" she asks, bringing up a hand - a hand covered with various rings and bracelets - up to her head to brush a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. Karolina was wearing a beanie, and a brown jacket over a white blouse, the blouse bearing a slash of rainbow along the centre. Jeans with flared cuffs were worn on her legs, and a pair of comfortable - and well-worn - sneakers might finish the ensemble.
"Oh not too bad. I haven't been getting upto any adventures lately if that's what you're asking!" Molly replies cheerfully. "Although did you know they have female firefighters and sometimes they buy people ice cream when bad things happen? But aaaaaaannnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyywaaaay enough about me! How're you? Any luck finding a nice job?" Her own outfit is much the same as always, she only owns two after all, although for variety she's got a blue whale beanie on with big buttons sewn on for eyes. "And have you spent any more time hanging out with that girl and her flying rock?"
"No luck finding a nice job yet," says 'lina to Molly, a little smile turning up the corners of her lips. "I still work at the pizzeria part time, and that's been okay - so maybe that's a little nice?" she asks, kinda tilting her head to the side. "But yeah - ice cream makes everything better, doesn't it?" she says. When the girl with the rock was mentioned, 'lina's cheeks flushing a deep scarlet. "W-well, not really," she says, glancing forward.
In an unprecedented move, about 15 minutes ago police were rounded up on account of a fast-forwarded special event permit. In fact, completely unaware to either Molly Hayes or Karolina Dean, five blocks around in every direction, the police had formed a line, not allowing any traffic into the area. None of the troopers really knew why, either, but they were given their orders. The only things that were passing the police circle around Soho was three very large, black buses. A confused crowd watched the three intimidating bus convoy pass into the police line. Once onto the empty streets, the bus drivers hit the gas pedal, and began speeding forward, like they were running a race.
After a minute passed, the buses turned slightly, to form a particular formation as they drove, and headed onto the block where the two girls walked. The two flanking buses moved outward, attempting to completely pass to the sides of the two girls--a good forty feet from them--but after passing them, they halted to a stop, turning in. The central bus made a turn, too, and the three buses had soon formed a loose triangle position around the two girl girls. This was clearly intended for them, as strange as it was.
What was even stranger was that all three buses opened up. Not the door--but the entire SIDE of the buses opened up, all three buses opening to reveal a crowd of people. Party people! Balloons and confetti spraying every which way. Multicolored lights blasting like a techno-ball, even in the middle of the day. One of the buses had a stage on it, full of happy dancing women. Virtually every passenger was looking at Karolina and Molly, cheering for them!
Soon to follow was a man: he was a very well-dressed, business suited man. Older, grey hair, and a huge smile. He was holding a microphone, and spoke into it.
"Hello, hello! MOLLY HAYES, and KAROLINA DEAN! This is your day. This is a party, a party that we made to celebrate yoooou!" the older man said chipperly into the mic. The crowd erupted in applause, and jumping up and down, and kids, roughly eight years old, came strolling out, collectively carrying a small table. On the table was a cake. A big chocolate cake.
'lina narrows her eyes. "What the he..." a glance to Molly. "...heck is this?" she says then, her eyes flickering towards the party buses in general. Bringing up a hand, 'lina hopes to lay a hand on Molly's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Might be a trap," she whispers down towards her, although her expression was softening at the sight of the childrens. And the cake. "...or might not be. But..." Another beat. "WHO ARE YOU?" she calls back, lifting her voice loudly.
Molly Hayes glances at Karolina and beams. "I didn't know you'd arranged a party!" she proclaims, waving back at everyone excitedly. "Although you should have made sure they made cake you could eat too.... I can just see chocolate cake. And don't tell me you're watching your weight or something dumb like that. You're waaaay to thin to diet."
The man on the microphone, surrounded by dancing women, smiled gently at the two girls, his eyes tracking the large chocolate cake heading their way. His volume dipped just slightly, suggesting a softer, more comfortable tone than he'd initially used, "My two wonderful people! We are... the future! Universal Child Kindness Earth Rescue!" he steps off the stage, and then off the bus, followed by a single-file line of random party-goers; their ages varying dramatically, from toddler to teenager to elderly. As he leads the crowd closer to Molly and Karolina, he continues, "I know this is most unexpected. Most confusing. It's just... my staff, my team have been tracking you for some time. We didn't know how to reach out to you. We were afraid, you see, that you'd think we were trying to wrangle you. We know you've been through hardship. We know you've had to flee from The Powers That Be." The man had reached the two girls at this point, and stood only fifteen feet from them. "This was the only way we could think of to talk to you, to show you we were of good faith. My name is Simon Stagg. These people around me: they all work for me. They're my employees. We all work in the Beyond Corporation Metrocenter in Metropolis. And we're reaching out to you. We need you."
"This is sooo not me. I think I'd buy more veggies before doing a big ol' party like this, Molly," says 'lina. "I think we might need to duck down an alley, um..." she says, releasing Molly's shoulder as she starts to drift that way. Although 'lina pauses. As far as villainous ambushes went, this one, well. It wasn't tripping any of the usual alarm bells. Seeing the elderly and the children in the crowd seemed to clinch it for her.
"I've just been eating right for my body type. If I ate as much as you, Molly - I'd be three hundred pounds!" That, and the vegan diet was a good way to lose weight as a general rule.
"...did my... our parents send you, Mr. Stagg?" asks Karolina when the man draws nearer. She had her eyes narrowed in suspicion - but it was not tremendously overt. "But you /need/ us? Why do you need us?" she asks.
Molly Hayes is appears not to be paying attention to anything except the cake. Mmmm cake. "Next time you throw a party let me know so I can put on clean clothes," she notes to Karolina, stepping entirely the wrong way to flee down the alley. "Can.. can I have a piece of cake please? A really really big piece of cake if it's possible 'coz I'm so hungry! Oh and some napkins so I don't get chocolate all over." She pauses from her cake fixation long enough to look up and smile at the strange man with the microphone.
Simon Stagg looks onto Karolina with a split-second gaze of confusion when she mentions her parents, shaking his head. "It's not just us that need you. The FUTURE needs you! Beyond Corporation, a recent acquisition of Stagg Industries, we're a corporation that cares. We're tired of the selfish, the *old* ways of doing things. Old men, like me, run the world, Miss Dean. And I, for one, am sick of it!" -- as Stagg says this, the crowd begins to cheer, dying down after about ten seconds. "We need to champion a new vision for the future: one where justice, health, and safety are more important than money. And we want you two to help us lead this charge. My entire institution, ladies, will be at your disposal. We will protect you from anything we can... not that you need it, no no. We know about your powers. They're going to make you big, big stars. You're going to inspire a nation of children." Stagg takes a moment to smile at the two. "Are you willing to trust us, at least for a few days?"
Karolina hesitates - hesitates when he says such things. They needed a job - as 'lina grew older, the whole superhero thing seemed more and more of a pipe dream, and she had been taking on more and more responsibilities in an attempt to keep herself and Molly fed. (Even if Molly always mysteriously managed to come up with money from /somewhere/ suspicious). Wetting her lips with her tongue, 'lina glances towards the alleyway, before looking back to the man. "Molly, I told you - I didn't have anything to do with this - this... um... man is trying to get our attention," she says then.
A pause.
"...I... you have our attention," says 'lina, kinda glancing towards Molly. He kinda already had her attention, by the look of it.
Molly Hayes glances up. Mouth filled with cake and frosting on her nose. The napkins, they do nothing. "What was that?" she eventually manages to say, then at a whisper she adds "Uhm. We could always go see what he wants and if he's a bad-guy we won't have to track down his secret base? 'coz we'll already be there." She takes another huge bite of cake. "Does anyone have a soda?"
Stagg perked up excitedly when Karolina suggested she was listening. "Oh, this is perfect. Wonderful. A decision you won't regret. Our non-profit organization has been setting up locations all over the world: you'll be helping children have a better life--" the words leaped out of Stagg's mouth faster than he could even hold, and he interrupted himself. "Sapphire. Sapphire?" he suddenly called out.
Emerging from the back of the crowd was pretty, blonde young woman approximately twenty years old. She smiled and blinked at the children, and Stagg gestured towards her. "Karolina, Molly. I'd like you to meet my pride and joy. The most important thing to me in the world: my daughter, Sapphire." Sapphire *curtsied* and then smiled even more brightly.
"This is the beginning of something big. I am so happy that you're interested in spending a few days with us at Beyond Corporation. You can help us chart a new plan to make the world a better place," Sapphire said. Her voice was sweet, though she over-articulated in a manner that suggested either nervousness, or possibly pre-scripted lines.
"Yes, yes, soda. Plenty of soda," Simon Stagg answers to Molly, gesturing his hand to some men nearby. Like trained monkeys, they instantly dart out and retrieve a case of various sodas for Molly. Stagg then turns his attention to Karolina, deeming her the more reasonable one. "You can think it over, of course. Enjoy the party--we've reserved the entire Soho area for the next hour. And here," Stagg flicks a business card out of his hand, which has the Beyond Corporation address on it. "Sapphire, will you be a dear and stay to answer any of their questions? I've another meeting." Simon Stagg turns and walks towards one of the buses, eventually rounding around it and disappearing from sight.
Karolina Dean does pause as Sapphire steps out, her eyes widening a bit as she glances from her to Molly and then back again. Another beat, and a smile of Karolina's own spreads across her lips. "Sapphire - um. It's nice to meet you," she says, 'lina ~hesitantly~ taking a handful of steps back to stand nearish Molly.
"I'm Karolina Dean - but, um... I guess you know that already - your dad must have told you about me and... stuff already," she says, kinda bringing up a hand to brush through her hair, glancing from her to Simon to back again.
Although her attention was fully on Sapphire as she speaks what she does. "You reserved the /entire/ Soho... you didn't need to do that. You coulda spent that money on other things, especially if you are a non-profit, you know?" says Karolina. "But um. We could... use a job," she says, taking the offered business card, blue eyes dropping a moment to read it before they lift again. "Thank you for offering to talk to us, Mr. Stagg," she says, bringing up a hand to give him a little wave.
Leaning over towards Molly, her whisper is hissed just for her. "This could be what we were looking for! Um. Do you wanna go get cake?" she says then, looking back towards Sapphire. "Uh. Hi again. How long have you, been with the company?" she asks.
Molly Hayes wipes her face with a napkin, hiding any evidence that she's already been at the cake. "Sure that sounds lovely!" she declares, before turning to Sapphire. "I'm Princess Powerful, it's nice to meet you. Say do you think we'll be able to have business cards too? Maybe some proper superhero costumes with cakes and masks?" Despite the danger she picks a soda with plenty of caffeine and sugar in. "Oh! Have you got any other famous heroes to help your group?"
"Oh, I've been working with my father just about as long as I can remember!" Sapphire said enthusiastically, not expecting Karolina to ask her questions about herself. "Though I used to just help out with events, like this one. But four months ago, my father said I was ready for a bigger position. Marketing Director," she beams proudly. "I've been learning just about everything I possibly can--I'm in my senior year of college over at Gotham U. I think he wants to make you girls my responsibility... to help prep you for your jobs."
When Molly asks her questions, responds: "My dad has been trying to decide who to approach next, but you're our first picks. It's gotta be just the right heroes, because we want to inspire people. If you'd like some costumes, we can do that. I'll have some of our designers put together some prototypes." Sapphire looks at the two girls, wondering if they have more questions.
'Lina winces when Molly gives her superhero name, and - momentarily forgetting that they already called them by their hero names. "What does your group do exactly?" she asks Sapphire first of all. Although there was a little bit of deflating as she was called a 'girl' by the older woman. "You sound so smart - what sort of degree are you working for?" she asks, kinda... putting her weight on one foot, setting her hands on her hips, and adopting a casual sort of demeanor, all smiles on her lips.
"Well, I mean... if you guys can track us down - I think I know some other people that might be good to hire? Old friends of ours, you know. If you could track them down..." 'lina kinda bites her lower lip. "...that would be really really great," she says, flipping her hair out of her eyes, and giving Sapphire another lingering smile.
"This is pretty nice cake," Molly decides, half way through her second giant slice already. "How did you come up with the name of the organization thingy?" Ever so casually she loads her pockets up with cans of soda just in case everyone changes their minds about this whole job offer business.
"Friends? You mean, from your original group?" Sapphire asks Karolina, suggesting she knew more about 'The Runaways' than she'd previously let on. "That sounds possible. I'll have to talk to Simon--I don't know how his tracking system works. That's another department," she says contemplatively. As to her background, she answers: "Oh, I've been studying Communications, Television, and art production. I want to be a movie director, one day. That's my dreams. But father says that working for his company is the opportunity of a lifetime... and it's true, nobody my age would ever have a job like mine. I guess I'm pretty lucky." A crowd of seven twenty-something pretty-people cozy up to Sapphire suddenly, and look at the girls merrily. Sapphire, blushing, tells the two: "This is my team. Marky, Traci, Ralph, Donald, Lena, Constance, and Mercy. They'll be doing your styling, make-up, travel arrangements, accounting, human resources, and so on." The seven introduced people wave in nearly perfect synchronization. "Beyond Corporation was a technological strategies company that was developing new sciences to improve the world. It has such promise, that Simon decided to buy the whole company when it went into open bidding. It just took off from there. The whole thing has changed him, I must say... he used to be such a cynical man, but now... now, he's hopeful. Excited."
Karolina, spying Molly doing the whole chipmunk thing, was likewise stealing cans of soda, sliding them into her jean pockets. She could only fit about three, but still. She does this as casually as possible. "Oh, so you kinda know already," says 'lina, a smile dancing across her lips.
"Styling? Travel arrangements? What... um... will be our job again?" asks Karolina, glancing from Sapphire to the team and then back again. "I know your dad said stuff like inspiring the world's children, but... does that mean we're going to be acting and stuff?" she asks.
Molly Hayes shrugs as all the crowds bustle around. "One thing I won't negotiate on. I pick my own hats!" she proclaims as soon as there is talk about people potentially styling her. "Although if someone gave me a hat buying budget I'd be willing to take suggestions...."
"Oh, well," Sapphie responds, looking embarrassed that she hadn't already explained: "you're going to be *heroes*! We'll be sending you on missions--to stop any major crime that hits Metropolis! But much more importantly, we're going to need you to occasionally be our public figures. This means the occasional commercial, photography session, public speech, press conference. You'll be the face of our organization!" she says proudly.
"You're going to Beyond Corporation's *icons*."