| DC/Marvel: Age of Infinite Heroes | ||||||||||
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The afternoon crowd is decent on a Sunday, not a bad day for business at the Stonechat Museum. Some people view exhibits alone and at their own pace while others on a time budget are led around in groups by tour guides. In the East Wing, Kendra makes her own rounds of the place, though she isn't dressed quite like a guide or other worker. Seems she does her own thing with a snug red top that looks soft, almost like velvet, and black slacks with flat-heeled boots that end short of the knees. She has an electronic tablet in hand, making notes of some kind on it while she passes from one part of the Egyptian exhibits to the next.
It is as Kendra is doing her rounds that she may notice the two twins. Kol is standing there, looking up at some armor on a stand, head slightly tilted back as a result. The armor is sparse as it is not like the Egyptians were knights, and the weapon Egyptian in nature. Behind him stands Phyre who is hugging him about his waist and leaning against his back, her chin on his shoulder while she stands on her toes just a touch. There is a few inches of height difference between them, but not much. Their closeness is obvious, and they are both very silent.
Kendra reaches the end of one line of exhibits and taps a few things on the screen, looking back in the opposite direction as she turns around. "..think that's all of them.." she murmurs to herself, rubbing her chin before the fingers stop in the middle of it. Steps follow in the direction of the twins and she goes right into asking, "Did you two have any trouble finding the place?" She may not have expected them to actually visit, especially so soon.
Dual sets of light, inhuman eyes turn toward Kendra when she speaks in sync with one-another. Eerie... But then again, that is them...linked cybernetic twins. They slowly blink, and it is Phyre that smiles a bit, "It was easy to find. We are taking a vacation, since we are no longer in legal difficulties." The use of we, huh?
"It is time to move on, and we have decided to take time to figure out what all we honestly want from life for ourselves, before performing our next step in moving forward," Kol states. "I thought getting out of our usual environment would be beneficial."
"Okay, that thing? Odd." Kendra gestures to both of them as they directly face her at the exact same time. "That's good, though. About the legal stuff. I guess it all got worked out and since you're here now..." Then Kol gets her attention for a moment instead. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've had to go through the whole 'find yourself' thing once or twice myself. What do you think of the wing?" She gestures with her tablet.
Kol states at first just, "Primitive."
Phyre then says, "I think it's pretty. I like some of the fashion and how interesting the clothes fit and laid in the etchings." She then mmms, "How long did it take for you to figure things out?"
That question from Phyre actually causes Kol to look more closely at Kendra. The young man is lost, and knows it. He knows where he wants to go via career, but that is it.
Kendra answers Kol first. "Consider what all of this is from." A long, long time ago. Hundreds of years, and more. "I never thought about the fashion part of it except for understanding it was hot in Egypt, a lot," she tells Phyre with a smile that's just short of a smirk.
Then she grows quiet long enough that they might think she isn't going to respond to the part about figuring things out, finally saying instead, "Sometimes think I've worked it all out, then things happen to remind me I'm nowhere near having all the answers and I don't think I ever will."
Kol then says, "It is illogical to think we will have all the answers, but if you are confident in the path you walk, then would that not assure that you feel confident in finding who you are and your purpose?"
Phyre mmms softly, "This is more your type of conversation Brother." She then moves to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to find that refreshment area, I'll get you something." She then goes skipping away, seemingly innocent. Yet, there was a slightly dark look of impatience of her face for a few moments, as if she wishes her brother would hurry up to a specific conclusion.
Kendra frowns briefly. "It's been rocky sometimes, but I'm pretty certain about what I'm doing with my life now," she answers with a brief nod, standing a few feet away as Phyre shows an urge to be off somewhere else instead of listening to the deeper conversation. "The two of you are pretty different," she observes once the trio is down to a pair.
Kol watches his sister depart for a few moments before turning back to Kendra and nodding. "Yes. She is more carefree and open about her emotions. I find such things...generally awkward and should typically be private affairs. We are similar in other ways that are just as important as our differences." There is another moment of silence.
"How do you see your life's path right now if I may so inquire?" Kol's expression is very serious. "I myself can see myself working long-term at Starrware Labs, and changing the face of public cybernetics. However, I am not sure what to do about my sister's interest in superheroing and how that has been shaping after all the difficulties, or her desire to be more 'socially active'. How does one balance their professional and personal life?"
Kendra runs a hand through her short hair, admitting, "The two of you are obviously close. Whatever else happens, try not to lose that." It's not hard to see she's probably more like Kol on the surface, in terms of emotions and things she keeps guarded. "I've been helping out here for a while, but I'm also involved with doing what I can to help people in need." She doesn't specifically say what that involves, however.
"We won't," Kol says, "Lose our closeness. It would be difficult, especially with us being mentally tied to each other via cybernetic pathways." Basically, telepathic communication. "Still, I get your point to not alienate one-another through our actions, correct?" Kol finally slips his doll-like fingers into his pants pockets. "You help others?" He does probe.
Kendra eyes the fingers with a curious look. The whole doll-like appearance is not the strangest thing she's ever seen, but it does stand out enough. "Then in that case, it sounds like you're all right. I bet it can be strange sometimes, though." Speaking from experience, in a way? The talk of helping leads to her attempting to figure out how to put it. "Let's just say there's more to me than what's on the surface."
Secrets. It draws Kol. He goes to open his mouth to say something more, when Phyre is moving behind him and almost leaps on his bag with a lid covered soda with straw being held in one hand for herself, and another in her other hand for him. "Brother!"
Kol moves to take his drink from her, as if knowing which one is is and goes to take a drink even as he rolls his eyes as her antics. He didn't even seem to budge when she practically collided with him, that may have seemed a little odd. "Sister," he responds back calmly.
Phyre then asks Kendra, "Do they have clothes to show here? Like from different time periods and cultures?" She sounds really interested in that.
Before she can explain, or attempt to do so in such a way that it doesn't reveal exactly what she means, Kendra watches Phyre return and all but attack Kol. She sniffs and shakes her head, saying sarcastically, "That's all right, I'll get my own drink." It's the sister's questions that get her off on another subject other than what she'd started telling the brother. "Here and there, but it's not as big a focus as the artifacts. I can show you a few areas where you'll find some stuff, though." With that she begins to walk.
Phyre smirks a bit, "I thought you believed me too friendly," she teases Kendra. Oooooh, she does have some bite after all! But her face lights up, "Anything is fine!"
Kol then nods at that, "Very well." He seems agreeable enough to be dragged about to see 'clothes', though it does not personally interest him. Then again, it is an excuse to speak with Kendra more as well. Kol has not really tried to /speak/ with someone before in a normal conversation with full willingness. It's all new to him.
Kendra sniffs in some sort of amusement, shaking her head. "A drink isn't any real commitment to anything, and I could've got you something free if you'd waited a few seconds." So there. On they go, from one wing to another as she ends up giving them an abbreviated tour of sorts herself, pointing out certain things she thinks might interest both of them before they reach an area with a few more examples of period outfits. "Most of this stuff is reproduced. Fabric doesn't hold up the best over centuries."
"Uh-huh," Phyre says, sounding amused as she giggles. Yes, she's picking on Kendra right back. But she trials after Kendra, oohing and ahhing at things. "Really? I guess because it is biodegradable, right?"
Kol nods at that, "I would suspect so." Kol watches how the two women interact with each other.
Kendra rolls her eyes at the sister for one reason or another, then she nods. "That, moths, the fact nobody back then probably thought about trying to preserve anything because they were more concerned with their own survival depending on where they were.." She clears her throat, adding, "But that's what archaeologists and historians do. They figure out what was worn and used, what people lived in and so on. Go back far enough and you're talking loincloths and caves."
Phyre nods at that. "Loincloths is not what I'm interested in though. I want to spread out in my clothing design, and was hoping to get some inspiration from history, like Steampunk takes inspiration from the Victorian age and fantasy."
"That's a bit basic, yeah," Kendra deadpans. "Not much you can do with a loincloth, and it's not really acceptable in public either." Arms cross - she took a brief detour to relieve herself of the tablet - as she says, "You can see a little Victorian here, but not the steampunk stuff."
"I've seen lots of that and designed it too. I made Miss Starr a beautiful steampunk dress, and Clark a steampunk gentleman's suit. I need new inspiration," Phyre re-explains. "And more people to design for too, so I can learn new techniques for different body types and personalities."
Kol finishes his drink and drops it in a trash can they pass by, "You can try a reference program and do custom made designs. Not an actual business, but a by-the-case design hobby."
Kendra arches a brow at Phyre's talk of designing for others. If she shows any sign of knowing who's being talked of she doesn't say, though her expression hints at a further curiosity of some kind. "What I've got is pretty basic. You know, the standard tops and bottoms, maybe a little leather when I'm in a clubbing mood." Not /that/ kind of clubbing, the other kind! A nod follows to Kol as she adds, "I'm not much for the designing of all that stuff."
Kol is glad he isn't drinking anything anymore, as he thought of the cave woman style clubbing. He actually almost trips over his feet, and Phyre looks at him funnily. "Why would a woman hit a guy over the head with a club and drag them away while wearing leather?"
Kol shakes his head, "No, it has to do with the loincloth talk. A jest of primitive dating habits. In either case, forget about it."
Phyre snorts lightly at that, "Who would want to date like that?" She mmms then, "Leather is interesting to work with, I think. I designed our clothes too, and I am interested in branching out into different types of corsets with varying fabrics. I want to do something wild! Fun!" Phyre smiles warmly then, though the emotion is still missing from her artificial eyes.
Kendra squints at both of them. "I mean like a nightclub, a place to hang out and have fun." She sniffs and shakes her head, no more said about it than that as she continues along to show them a few other things, nothing terribly special though. "Corsets, huh? Those can be pretty restrictive. I wouldn't do most of my work in one, I can tell you that." Another glance follows the mention of wild and fun, leading her to wonder, "And just what is wild and fun for you?"
"Why not? Mine is comfortable," and Phyre touches the corset she wears. "And it's pretty, and I can still move in it." She mmms softly.
"Some people do not desire to be restricted, while others do." It sounds like he is referring to more than just clothes, but exactly what, is not clear with Kol's comments at this time.
Phyre shrugs a bit, "Wild and fun? Something challenging to make, but appears beautiful when worn by that someone. Something someone enjoys and is highly pleased with. It shows their beauty within on the outside."
"It depends on what you're trying to do," Kendra says. "I wouldn't wear one if I was going to be active. Running, sparring, training, stuff like that." Still, she gives Phyre a longer look at hers. "Did you make it?" she does wonder, though she nods a beat later to what Kol says. "You have to be in a certain mood if you're okay with, uh, restricting things." Then she nods slowly to what Phyre adds in regard to her vision. "Well, I'd hope whoever wore it would like it."
"I make all my brothers and my clothes we generally wear," Phyre advises. "My corset though does into interfere with my activity, though sometimes I need to replace the boning due to warping because of some of my acrobatics."
Kol picks up on something Phyre missed however, "You spar? What type of training do you perform?"
Phyre finds a trash can and tosses her own empty drink away now, before skipping back to her brother to hold one of his idle hands. Kol does not fidget or move very often, he is a very still individual unlike his sister.
One in constant motion, the other hardly making a move that doesn't seem pre-determined. Kendra admits, "Then you're more daring than I'd have thought if you wear that while being active." Maybe the cybernetics make it easier, but she couldn't say for sure and it doesn't come up. Instead, she tells Kol, "Yeah. Self-defense, martial arts, some weapons I'm familiar with," she says by way of giving a few examples. "No, I'm not a cop."
Kol nods at that, "Are you saying it is a mere hobby?" Probbing questions again, without being accusing.
Phyre does look curious though, "That's neat actually," she tells Kendra. "We are just programmed with that information. We adapt and use our own creativity, but it's just knowledge we have and have not learned or really expand upon it unless it involves tactics. So I think learning martial arts and weapons by hand is really admirable as it is a difficult skill to master."
"Programmed with it?" Kendra asks, a hint of skepticism following before she says to Kol, "Not really a hobby. More of a lifestyle in ways." She's led the way back toward the front area of the museum, passing a few other exhibits along the way. "Let's just say I know a few 'supers,'" she adds, making air quotes with her fingers. "But keep quiet about it here."
Kol nods, "Artificial enhancements," he comments as if it isn't a big deal. Though at the mention of heroes, he looks pointedly at Kendra.
"I know Captain Marvel, he's a little silly," Phyre says. "But I like him. I want to meet him again."
Kol scowls protectively after those words!
Kendra returns Kol's look with one of her own, nodding toward a quieter part of the large room. "Look, in a world like this it's not that uncommon for people to have met metas, supers, whatever," she explains in a low voice. "If Phyre's set on it the best thing I can do is tell you to be very careful. Like I said at the convention, it's not something anyone should just jump into because they think it's cool or fun. You can get killed just like that if you don't watch yourself." It's not something she wanted to say, but it needs to be.
Kol and Phyre move with Kendra, both appearing a bit confused. Kol then frowns, "I just don't think she should speak with stupid boys."
"Brother! I said he was silly, not /stupid/, there is a difference you know," and she lets out a dramatic sigh.
Kol looks pointedly at her sister then. But Phyre then rolls her eyes, "And obviously you can die, it isn't like we didn't serve a supervillain for years, and do things I won't repeat. Not at all. We have no concept of how dangerous the world is and how evil it can be."
"Did you just use sarcasm?" Kol bluntly asks that with some shock, the twins stare at each other, and finally Kol says, "Stop that and never do it again. It sounds wrong coming out of your mouth." Apparently, she channeled Kol in that moment.
While some of the back-and-forth is taking place between the twins, Kendra actually pokes her head inside an adjacent room to grab a bottle of water from a cooler sitting there with ice in it. She's still listening, though. Once she faces them again and she's had a couple sips, she quips, "He's like a big boy scout." However, she stops short at the talk of serving a supervillain for years. "You did what?" And how has she apparently missed this?
The twins turn to look over at you then. "Boy Scout?" That is Kol's question. "Does that mean simplicity of mind?"
Then Phyre actually giggles.
"And yes, we are former supervillain minions," and he shrugs dismissively at that. "We did what we had to then. Life is different now, and so we have adapted. Neither of us had ever had malicious intentions to hurt others in the past, nor now."
After Phyre mmms thoughtfully, Kol then continues, "Also, you do not normally see such cybernetics on normal people do you? We are enhanced beings to the point of our minds actually having been surgically enhanced with cybernetic components. One would not exactly call that humane or legal. It is not a difficult leap of logic."
The have a past, a dark one, but neither seem emotionally distressed about it. And Phyre seems to want to become a heroine?! The two must have changed from what they were like back then, no wonder they are likely a little lost.
"It means he's always about doing the right thing and helping others, kind of like Superman," Kendra explains, though she's halted the sipping of her water as she listens to the open answer of them having been minions, doing what they had to do and the details about the cybernetics. However, the first thing she asks is, "You may not have had bad intentions, but did people get hurt? I've never heard of a bad guy who didn't. If you were under someone's control that's different.." All the same, her tone is a guarded one just this minute.
"Obviously people got hurt," Kol states in a matter-of-fact manner. "If no one got hurt, why would our former master have been called a supervillain?"
Phyre nods, "We were hurt too. I didn't even understand for a long while that what we were doing was really evil or wrong. I think brother understood more, but didn't want to hurt my feelings when we had no real choice."
Kol frowns slightly, as if not realizing that Phyre noticed that. "I have no regrets, judge if you wish," he finally says as he looks directly at Kendra. "I did what I had to, to keep my sister safe, and to survive myself. When I finally realized we could become free and that was a reality, we did so." It took the Super Family to teach them though, because of the conditioning. Kol doesn't share that however. "The education I gained while under questionable situations serves me well now and permits me to live an independent life and provide for my sister in legal means. It will also permit me to help give people more fulfilling lives by researching and developing affordable cybernetic limbs. As of right now, I am a contributing member of society, and much more content with this form of life than a previous one that involved...other things." Kol is learning to edit what he says, little-by-little.
Kendra wears a frown, one that lingers long into the explanation she's graced with. From her own experiences, it's difficult to fathom a situation like this. She can understand it, but it's uncommon. She mutters a four-letter word under her breath, though it can be heard by both of them, shaking her head at something. A thought? A response she's thinking of?
When she does answer it's to say first, "I'm not judging you. If you were forced into it and had no choice or you had to..I dunno, do something you didn't want to while looking for a way out..." She cuts off there, looking between both of them with a hard expression. "The important thing is what you do about it now. Whatever happened, amends should be made and it sounds like you get that. If you can help others somehow, I think it will even the rest out. I know life deals people bad hands sometimes."
A nod at that, from both of them. Phyre says, "We don't really remember what it was like before we are what we were, even during the transition phases, much of that is gone, least from my memories. We are what we are, and we will become what we worth towards. I don't worry about it beyond that," she admits. "Brother is the one that can better define morality."
"It does not mean we exactly have it sister. But it is an interesting concept unto itself. To me, there are simply things that make you feel good and make you feel bad, and the reaction of others can often influence that personal feeling of good or bad. Because of this, cultures arise, the edicts of morals and values, and so on. Each individual, even 'hero' I suspect, has their own way of defining morals, values, and ethics."
Kendra goes back to her water now, though there's still a look of /something/ etched into her face that suggests discomfort at the very least with this topic. "I can't tell you a perfect example of morals or ethics. Everyone has to learn what theirs are compared to basic right and wrong. You've seen the wrong at least, more than most." In other words, it ought to be something they can compare things to going forward.
"And if you have a concern about anything, I've been around the block a few times, seen some pretty bad stuff myself," the short-haired woman with the steely edge to her expression adds.
Again, a lingering glance from Kol who is silent for a few, but watchful.
Still, Phyre then tugs on his arm, "Brother, I'm hungry. You said we could try some local cuisine."
Kol looks at his sister and nods, "Very well. We can go eat," as if used to her impulsive actions. Then toward Kendra he says, "Perhaps we will meet again soon." It is not something he would normally say, but it certain shows his reflection that he may be searching Kendra out again.
"Hold on," Kendra tells them when food is brought up. She grabs a notepad and pen, writing a few things down before tearing off the sheet and handing it to whoever reaches for it first. "Those are a few of the places I like. Po' boys, gumbo, jambalaya, you name it. And get some beignets or pralines for dessert. Trust me on that." One more nod is given to Kol as she points at the bottom of the paper. "My phone number's there."
Kol is staring at the number for a few moments and there is a loud thump. Phyre kicked her brother, looking at him with glaring eyes that reflect no emotion...only glaring cause of her lowered/narrowed eye-lids.
"She is not picking me up sister," Kol says with a sigh, and perhaps a slight, bitter twist of his mouth. He never thought about such things before, but he hasn't enjoyed speaking with a female like he does Kendra in...ever, least that he can remember.
"Humpf!" Phyre then goes to stomp off unhappily.
Kol nods toward you, "I will text my own number to you soon. Thank you for the suggestions." A simple thank you...Kol /is/ learning. He then moves to depart, to calmly walk after his sister.
Kendra merely arches a brow at the interplay between the pair. "It's in case either of you need to call me about something," she states quite clearly, shaking her head one last time at the twins. She never offered to join them for their dinner, mind. "Welcome," she finishes, watching them off silently. "Strange," she finally mutters to herself once they've left.