Iskaulit mingle

[lord_wizard]

Who: Anyone!
Broadcast: No
Action: Iskaulit
When: Feb. Drift Week (and beyond?)

[The fleet, more or less patched up after their battle, has once again left civilization behind for empty space. Maybe it's a good time to distract yourself and get away from the endless repairs and nothingness, though there might still be cleaning up that needs to be done here too.

Whether you're grabbing a broom or grabbing a drink, this is a fleetwide mingle for the Iskaulit.]

Comments

[spacebro]

As hard as I can? [He's a little skeptical, but those bags were made for people with such powers.]

[outstandingbalance]

It can take it. Probably.

[Natasha shrugs.]

And if it can't, that'll tell us something too.

[spacebro]

That we should leave and pretend we were never here? [He smiles but then he gives the bag a solid punch and it swings back, but it stays intact. They were well designed and constructed.]

[outstandingbalance]

Just give it a shot.

[Natasha watches, taking in his form as much as his strength. Maybe more, even.]

Not bad. I think you may have done this before.

[spacebro]

Kara was training me on Earth, so I could control my powers. She also wanted me to be a hero.

[outstandingbalance]

She wanted you to be a hero. [That is a very specific word choice.] And you?

[spacebro]

[There's a lot of embracing "hero" as a term and concept on Earth he's found. It's like an occupation that doesn't pay you.]

And I wasn't sure if that was for me.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha has a complicated relationship with the term herself.]

That's fair. It's not for everyone. And even for people who get into it, doesn't always mean the same thing.

How fast are you?

[spacebro]

I feel like you're going to be disappointed if I say very fast. [He smiles.]

What do you mean by it not meaning the same thing? [Curious.]

[outstandingbalance]

I was hoping for something a little more specific.

[As for his question, Natasha sighs, considering how to answer. She hasn't exactly got into her past with him. She's not sure she wants to change that. At the same time, she can guess what being a hero means for Kara, and how that might not work for everyone.]

And what I mean is that for some people, say my friend Steve or Kara, it's something they're driven to do. They have this... moral imperative. They have power, and they feel like the right thing to do is to use it to help people. To protect people who can't protect themselves. It's just... in them.

Other people... maybe they have something to prove. Or a sense of responsibility.

For some people, helping is a way to make up for their sins. Balance the scales.

[She considers his face a moment before asking:] You follow?

[spacebro]

How's this? [He says it from across the room where he just ran, very quickly. He walks back toward he considering her comments about being a hero. The last part hits a little closer to home than he fully expects.]

Do you have personal experience with this?

[outstandingbalance]

That says a lot.

[Natasha draws a slow breath, hesitating, but in the end she opts to tell him. It's not like it's a secret.]

Let's say, I was raised to be an assassin, and a spy. Started when I was younger than most kids start playing soccer.

I have a lot to make up for.

[spacebro]

[He doesn't entirely know what soccer is, but Kara said it was like garata without dragons so he gets the idea. Definitely not the most important detail.]

An assassin? Wow. [Surprised, but not sounding judgmental. He might have kept distance if he'd known that before. There's no reason to go looking for trouble. But now he knows her and doesn't think of her as trouble.] So, you're a hero now to make things right.

What happened that you were raised like that?

[outstandingbalance]

Let's say I work with heroes. Seems more accurate that way. [Both emotionally and literally. She's not wearing an Iron Man suit. She doesn't call the thunder. But she manages to fill in the gaps, somehow.]

Not really mysterious how something like that happens. The country I was born in wanted weapons that no one would look twice at—or if they did, they wouldn't know what they were seeing.

Pretty girls fit the bill.

[spacebro]

You didn't have much of a choice if you were taken that young. It sounds like they're the ones with a lot to make up for.

[outstandingbalance]

I wasn't that young when I stopped. [That's not the whole answer. The one where who's fault it is doesn't change what she was made or what she's done.] And I'm the one who has to look at herself in the mirror.

[spacebro]

[He looks thoughtful at that and it also hits close to home.] So, how is the making up for it going?

[outstandingbalance]

It has its ups and downs.

[spacebro]

[Nodding.]

...Do you ever get paid for it because Kara is really down on that part.

[outstandingbalance]

Depends what you consider getting paid for it. I didn't always get paid for it... but it's not exactly separate from my day job, either.

When I've had a day job.

[spacebro]

What was your day job when you had a day job?

[outstandingbalance]

I was still part of an intelligence agency.

[spacebro]

Was it like the DEO?

[outstandingbalance]

From what I've heard about the DEO... in some ways. Let's say not exactly like, but you get the gist.

[spacebro]

You are a little like Alex. [Not that it was something that occurred to him until this moment and there are plenty of differences in his mind too because it would be weird if there weren't.] That's Kara's sister.