Alina (collateralmagic) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2010-08-25 23:54:00

Entry tags:

Texas Chaos Butterfly
Alina stands back to inspect her reflection in her (almost) full-length mirror. It had taken her a long time to find all of the proper materials for her costume, but she thinks she finally has it right. Black hat a blue band, black halter top, black shorts, a blue jacket that was light enough that she wouldn't suffocate in El Paso's heat, a sturdy pair of combat boots, and black-and-sparkly-blue fishnets. The fishnets in particular had been a major pain, she'd eventually had to just sit down and use magic to modify them, and that had ruined a few pairs until she'd gotten over the "error" phase of trial and error.

But now, everything's fixed up as good as she's going to get it. And the little imperfections ought to be covered by the same spell she uses to keep her identity secret. She's had a lot of practice holding that one so there's no real risk of losing that in a fight. Well, okay, she’s added a little something to it, but only because a mask would mean that her face didn’t look all blurry in any photos.

“Kaotik,” she says, straightening her shoulders and looking her reflection in the eye. A black and blue butterfly mask blossoms over her face, and her carpet changes color to match. Well that’s not too bad. Certainly could have been worse. Teleporting is going to be the one that might ruin all of this…

A few minutes later, a girl appeared at the door to the Young Justice League headquarters in an expanding cloud of iridescent insects.

“YEAGH!”

…Yeah. Not the first impression she wants to make. Is it too much to hope that no one inside heard that?

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	first_son 2010-09-02 05:24 am UTC (link)
	"Good question. This is the first time I've been the one someone has ended up talking to about joining the league. I'm not in any hurry though, so let's start with the highlights and things you'd consider important for us to know." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

collateralmagic
2010-09-02 08:21 pm UTC (link)

"All right then." Alina sets her soda down and crosses her legs at the knee. "Well, to start with, when I say I shatter the curve when it comes to magical power, I'm not puffing up my reputation. Not entirely sure how I managed it, but I'm sitting on enough power to make people who've been doing this for thousands of years sit up and take notice."

She picks up her soda again and takes another sip, watching Superboy carefully. Her ability to control her magic is probably more important than her power level here -- it doesn't matter that you can crush a house when you do it accidentally while trying to move a glass of water.

"Magic doesn't work for free though, and mine takes its payment in the form of side-effects, like all those bugs you saw that came with my teleport spell. If it's a big spell and I have to maintain it for awhile, the magic gets...wriggly, for lack of a better word. It's wild magic, it doesn't like being brought to heel. I've had enough training that I can usually keep the side-effects down to harmless and/or annoying, though. I've had very good teachers, and I've worked my butt off to make sure that it doesn't cause more problems than it fixes."

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first_son
2010-09-03 05:29 am UTC (link)

He considers this for a bit. After all, he certainly understands the risks and rewards that come with power, and sometimes the costs. He's also well aware that magic isn't their strongest point right now - a definite asset. He keeps his features mostly neutral, but there's definite interest and consideration there.
"Ok, next question - how do you feel about taking orders in the field? We don't have the most formal chain of command here, but we have good examples to look up to and big shoes to fill - which requires working as a team."

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	collateralmagic 2010-09-08 02:25 am UTC (link)
	Alina shrugs. "You guys have been doing this longer than I have, so I'll follow your lead. If you put me in charge of something, I might break out in bossy; but I don't have any particular itch to be the head honcho or to find an audience to show off for." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2010-09-08 02:48 am UTC (link)
	"First interview, and you're already talking about the chances of taking command? You are ambitious." he teases with light amusement. "Mostly just trying to make sure you're comfortable being a team player. So far, I'm not seeing any problems though." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

collateralmagic
2010-09-08 07:08 am UTC (link)

"I meant, like, if you put me on crowd-control or something," Alina says, feeling the color rise in her cheeks. On one hand, teasing was probably a good sign (right? Right?); but on the other, she was totally not going to make it through job-interview style with a cute (Super)boy teasing her. "Glad I'm keeping problems down to a minimum. Anything else you want to know?"

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first_son
2010-09-08 05:49 pm UTC (link)

"Normally there would be. We need to know how candidates handle pressure, how they stand up to stress and risk of dying, and their experience in working with a group. You handled San Francisco well though, which is about as bad a situation as any of us has ever seen, which goes a long way in your favor. I'm going to give you a copy of the charter. You'll be expected to know the rules and agree to abide by them. There's also still a matter of putting it to a vote... but I'll stretch the rules a little and let you know that based on San Francisco, and the results here, you have my nomination and vote."

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collateralmagic
2010-09-13 07:18 pm UTC (link)

YES!

Alina doesn't punch the air victoriously with her fist or bounce out of her chair to give Superboy a hug, but she does grin hugely and sit up a lot straighter (in case she does need to vault up and hug Superboy. You never know!)

"Awesome, thank you so much!" she says, a little squeaky with delight. Oh God, he'd totally notice that too. Augh. "So, uh, will I hear back from you guys, or should I show up in a week or two to find out the vote, or...?" She trails off, leaving the verbal blank hanging their for him to fill in.

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first_son
2010-09-13 07:37 pm UTC (link)

He's already sitting fairly straight, but he leans forward to rest a hand on her shoulder, grinning as well.
"Glad to see you so excited about it. A lot of the team has secret identities and such. If you want to protect your place of residence and such, you can contact us in a week. Otherwise, leave contact information with me and I'll let you know personally after the next time we get enough of the team together to deal with official business... probably two or three days."

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collateralmagic
2010-09-15 02:24 am UTC (link)

"Would an email address work?" Alina asks. "I've got one at the online Beetlecave for secure cape-stuff." Technically, she has two, but she's not giving "kidnapbait@bluebeetle3.com" out to anyone ever. She glances around for a pen and paper or something, and it occurs to her that she really should have thought ahead a bit more in the six months she'd been thinking about this. Ka-duh.

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	first_son 2010-09-15 04:57 am UTC (link)
	"Sure." he agrees, noting her glancing around. He gets up and heads into the next room, returning with a notepad and pen. "I'll get back to you as soon as we get a chance to meet." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

collateralmagic
2010-09-15 06:26 am UTC (link)

"Thanks." Alina carefully prints her non-'kidnapbait' address down on the pad to nip any messy handwriting issues in the bud. "I think I can manage the wait without climbing the walls." Although she'll be checking the email religiously after two days. Or a day and a half.

...After a day at the soonest.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you guys," she says, and pulls out the grin again. "Thanks for your time and support!"

Now she just needs the charter and then she can go fly loop-de-loops for the next three hours. Somewhere more discreet than inside YJLA HQ.

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first_son
2010-09-15 07:05 am UTC (link)

He can hear the enthusiasm in her voice - and generally considers it a good thing. After he has her contact information, he heads into the computer room to get her a copy of the charter, and enter her contact information into their records, as well as entering a notice for whoever is on duty after the next meeting to send her the results - which he's guessing, with his nomination and backing, will be an approval.

He returns after about three minutes with her copy of the charter.

http://www.reocities.com/jason.kirk/newera/jlacharter.html

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	collateralmagic 2010-09-18 01:04 am UTC (link)
	There might have been a little dance while he was out of the room. But he can't prove anything now. "Thanks," she says, accepting the charter. "Can I take this home with me or should I read it here?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2010-09-18 01:08 am UTC (link)
	X-ray vision has its uses. Good to know how recruits take these things. "That's your copy, just make sure you read over it well. There'll be a test later." he replies with a small grin. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2010-09-20 03:20 am UTC (link)
	"Seriously on the test or are you just messing with me?" She's pretty sure he's messing with her, but it never hurts to check. "I'm gonna need to pick up some hot sauce if I'm going to have to eat my flashcards later." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2010-09-20 03:30 am UTC (link)
	"A little of both, actually. There's no formal test, but you are expected to have at least a working knowledge of the bylaws and procedures and stuff. No one is allowed to claim ignorance if a problem comes up, so its to your benefit to do the reading. Compared to most books of magic, this should be a snap." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2010-09-21 10:28 pm UTC (link)
	"Well yeah, obviously that," Alina says. "I was going to read it anyway, I'd just read it differently if I needed to write a three page essay on each part or not." She tucks the charter under her arm and holds out her hand for Superboy to shake. "I guess I'll hear from you in a couple of days then." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2010-09-23 01:53 am UTC (link)
	He shakes her hand and nods. "No essays needed. You'll be hearing soon. Thanks again." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	collateralmagic 2010-10-04 02:42 am UTC (link)
	Alina manages to make it all the way outside before she gives into the urge to do a quick victory boogie. Then, in an effort to keep from leaving her calling card all over the Young Justice League's front steps, she heads off on foot to find a safe place to teleport home. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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