2013-02-18 - Death Visits

Death: It's been a pretty busy day for Karen Starr. There were several inventions at R&D, the Evergreen had an app hack problem that needed fixing (not Starrware's fault, it's the providers' fault but still...), several hirings of execs, buying a new factory, the marketing execs for the Evergreen had you bored in an office while they pitched ideas, and Stinky got into one of the clean rooms and led you on a merry chase. So now that you've finally gotten everything handled, the last thing you were expecting when you got back to your office was a young goth-looking girl in sitting at you desk, playing with your snowglobes!

((http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130109023538/comicadventures/images/thumb/0/02/Death.jpg/300px-Death.jpg))

She looks up, "You know Kara, I LOVE these things. Glad you got done with all that stuff, didn't want to interrupt." Odd that she called you Kara instead of Karen. Also odd that she's in your office, with your secretary outside who seemed to not mention this fact.

Power Girl: Karen Starr pauses at the door, she leans out to look at the secretary, "Did you let a new intern in? No? Hm. No, no, I'll handle it..." As she shuts the door it finally clicks in her brain that the girl called her Kara and not Karen. Nah. That must have been a mistake.

Karen slides behind her desk and sits down in her comfortable executive chair, peering at the goth-girl through brown contact lenses, "Can I help you, miss?" She watches the girl play with her snowglobes and sighs, "Please be careful with them. Some of them are really rare."

Death: Your secretary seemed genuinely confused when you asked about an intern though. When you address her, she smiles rather perkily. "Yeah Kara. Actually I was going to try to go about this in a less direct route but the woman I usually have tea with has been sort of preoccupied. I think I'm unnerving her. People who I let be immortal for any length of time sometimes do. Was surprised she would though - I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding. Oh yeah anyway, I need to talk to you about the Devil."

PG: Karen Starr leans back in the chair, hands resting on the arms. An amused expression touching her features, "That's why I bought it. Las Vegas and snow. I always wondered who thought that up." She raises a blonde eyebrow as the girl explains the situation with her tea mate and then the other goes up when she mentions the Devil, "Sooooo. You want to talk to me about the Devil... Okay. Seriously. Who put you up to this? Was it about that Halloween costume I wore? Or did Pete do this?"

Death: Death snerks, "No, but that really -was- an awesome costume." She tosses the snowglobe over to you. "No one put me up to this. To be honest I wasnt sure I wanted to even meet you directly in the first place. I figured you might be miffed about me and might not really listen as a result, but I figure since you've been on talking points with the big guy.... it's either talk to you or talk to Linda, and she's sort of still indisposed with the whole angel thing. Long story, won't get into it. Actually should probably make sure you don't even remember me talking about that." She pauses and then says, "ok let me rewind a bit and introduce myself properly." She leans forward and outstretches her hand in a friendly manner. "I'm Death."

PG: Karen Starr catches the snowglobe, setting it down on the desk as she listens to everything the chatty young woman has to say in silence. She pulls her glasses off and studies the girl with a critical gaze before leaning forward, "I had hoped that Kara thing was just a foible in your speech. Apparently not." Karen frowns, putting her glasses neatly in a jacket pocket, using the time to think furiously about the situation.

Finally she comes to some conclusion, opens her mouth to speak, then hesitates. After a couple of more seconds of silence she seems to resolve, every muscle tensing, "Prove it."

Death: Unlike Wally, Death shrugs a little. "Okay." She snaps her finger and you have a clear, very unusual memory. You've just been born on Krypton - not even at the Gestation Chambers, which was an odd occasion on Krypton - Alura and Zor-L always being ones who 'buck the trend.' And there's the goth girl there as well. She awws, "Oh arent you a cutie! Gonna be a real heartbreaker one day." Strangely, neither of your parents seem to notice her. Then she's gone the next second, and you start crying. "Could do something else if you want? Near Death Experience maybe? I don't want you thinking I'm threatening you though." She pauses. "Actually you're sort of having a Near Death Experience right now. Technically speaking. Since... you know..." She points to herself. "Death. Near you. Which you are experiencing."

PG: Karen Starr blinks, "I remember that... Why were you there when I was bo... Oh. Right. You had a busy day that day." She leans her elbows on her desk and vigorously rubs her face with both hands, "Okay. So Death is a goth girl with a sense of humor. I can deal with that. God is a thirteen year old with a love of baseball, after all."

She peeks over her fingers to look at Death, "How were you there on -my- Krypton? Do you transcend universes or something?"

Death: Death shrugs. "I'm everywhere when everyone's born. I just don't let people remember it usually. And yeah. Every universe. Every multiverse. Et cetera. I mean.. . right now I'm in a whole lot of places. Lots of people in lots of universes being born and dying, lots of universes dying, lots of universes being born. I mean eventually it'll all end but in the meantime, busy busy busy." She nods a bit. "Yeah I don't get that with the baseball either. I never really understood the point of the game. It's just so slow. but hey, to each our own right?"

PG: Karen Starr stares at Death, "I'd fire your agent. They have you as a skeleton in a black robe with a scythe. You look more like Death's little sister or something." She scratches the back of her head, when dealing with entities that are omnipresent she finds that she feels a bit put out, "I always liked Boxing myself. Wrestling is fun, but it gets tedious after a while."

Karen sighs and leans back in her chair, staring at the personfication of Death with narrowed eyes, "What was that about the Devil earlier?"

Death: Death thinks. "Nope, I'm just Death. And technically I can look like whatever I want, but I've been using this look for so long, it's my favorite. Almost 5 billion years, actually. I mean there's a reason God likes the human form right? Anyway, I have some people who work for me who look like that. It's a belief structure thing. Lots of rules involved." She then goes, "Oh yeah, the Devil. Hope you don't mind but there's this big thing going on with the Devil. Apparently a lot of doubles from the merging of universes happened. So... two Devils. They're sort of having a power struggle thing with some third Devil wannabe in the middle and it's going to really get messy. Lots of people who arent in the plan are going to probably wind up dying as a result, so I was asked if there's something I can do since... you know... he doesnt tend to get directly involved. I mean neither do I usually but this is going to totally mess with the tally sheets. Sad thing is I remember when both Devils were born too. They started out so nice."

She pats her lap. "Anyway, I figured there's only a handful of people in the universe who can probably get involved who won't get charred to a fiery nonexistence since they're in God's big plan directly. And say what you will about Lucifer or Morningstar or whatever they're wanting to call themselves, but they're not stupid enough to annihilate someone of direct interest of Him."

PG: Karen Starr blinks, "Wait... Wait.... Wait." She holds up both hands and pats the air, as though the gesture is enough to keep all of this away, "Now, I'm not as smart as you. Don't have five billion years of experience under my belt. But I think you just said You and God want me to fight the Devil. No, that's not right. You want me to fight multiple The Devils. Is that right?" She bites her bottom lip, normally she'd be all up for a fight with just about anything but... "I can't fight them. Don't they use magic? I mean. There are a lot of bad guys and good guys that use magic that are in some way associated with the Devil."

Death: Death shakes her head. "Oh nonono, not fight the Devil. Totally no. I mean, neither of them are scheduled to die anyway yet. Technically neither of them are supposed to be in the same universe but man that's a sticky wicket I've been having to deal with too. Just mess up his plans. Haven't acutally gotten the full scoop from him yet but I wanted to give you a heads up since this is sorta a big deal. And trust me, even the big magic players arent able to handle Lucifer or Morningstar. It's totally not about power, it's about being someone who knows someone important, which is basically you knowing a certain baseball afficianado."

PG: Karen Starr frowns, she steeples her fingers before her, tapping them gently against her lips as she mulls all of it over, "But I'm Power Girl. I hit stuff. That's what I do. You want me to get involved in a conflict and not punch something?" She shakes her head, "You might as well ask Superman to go and have a tea party with Darksied. Better yet! You can get Batman to not wear black."

Death: Death tilts her head. "Far as I know, and I'm pretty much omniscient so I know... Superman hasnt had chat time with God. Sorta makes you off bounds if you mess up any plans. I mean I'd do it myself but there are rules. I'm not allowed to. At least not for most of the year I'm not. You are allowed to." She takes another snowglobe from your desk and shakes it up again. "Don't worry, you're not going to have to do anything just yet. I'm just letting you know you're going to have to soon. Wanted to get introductions out of the way so you didnt go requiring proof when I didnt have time to convince you before there's hell on earth and all sorts of bad mojo happening." She pauses. "I mean you'll be able to punch stuff, sure. Lots of stuff, actually. It's just not going to be the main point of it."

PG: Karen Starr watches Death herself play with her snowglobes, she narrows her eyes, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She sighs softly and crosses her legs under the desk, "Okay. Well. If I don't do this.. What will happen? Will it spill out into the mortal universe?" Karen frowns, head tilting as a thought occurs to her, "Maybe the Devil can't hurt me. But what about those around me? Supergirl, Superboy, Superman, my cat, the people that work for me, my boyfriend?"

Death: Death watches snow rain down on the Golden Gate bridge. "Well I mean, you have free will to let the cosmos go to crap and have billions of people die during the ensuing chaos I guess. I just figured that sort of stuff is probably important to you. Heck, I'm Death and I'd rather not have billions die before their time either. It's just a lot of work and sort of makes the whole joy of life thing lose its luster." She sits up again. "And the Devil isnt exactly interested in those around you. Well except for Linda but she's out of his reach right now. He won't be getting revenge on your family if that's what you mean. At least not moreso than he'd normally be doing with making things crappy because you're all good people and he's... well... not."

PG: Karen Starr shrugs, "Okay. I just wanted to know... It's that bad, huh? Damn it." She sighs, "Fine. I'll do it. Whatever it takes. Though, I've got to ask the most blatant question here. What doesn't God just zap the Devil's ass? He's God. Instead of me going and risking my life, risking possible failure and apparently a rather nasty cataclysm. Would be easier, I'd think."

Death: Death snickers a little. "Hon. I'm omniscient and practically omnipresent and even I can't figure that out. Plus I'm not going to try to. I mean... lets face it, everyone's going to die eventually. You, Superman, so called 'immortal' people.... Lucifer, Morningstar, my brothers and sisters, whole universes die - you should know that better than most... So if it happens now or in a few weeks or months or millenia or eons... it's really all the same in the grand scheme of things, but it means a lot to the people who are LIVING it."

Death pauses and says, thoughtfully, "I'm thinking it's probably a free will thing. I mean... lets face it, He could make it that they don't even exist in the first place. I think he's big on the whole 'do for yourselves' thing. Didnt he talk to you about all that stuff anyway?" She puts the snowglobe down and watches it, chin on your desk. "Not that I'm going to try to figure out how he thinks - I can't figure it out, I'm not supposed to. Pretty sure none of us are supposed to."

PG: Karen Starr frowns. She studies the woman before her thoughtfully, taking note of her expressions, of her mannerisms. In the business world you have to learn to read people, its a skill that is required. What she reads off this being that calls herself Death puzzles her. Karen leans forward, looking at Death after pushing the snowglobe out of the way, "Are you okay? You seem.. I don't know. Sad? Lonely? Can you even feel those things? I don't mean to be intruding on a cosmic beings personal thoughts... But you're not what I was expecting."

Death: Death looks up at Karen, "Sure I can. I mean I spend so much time among the living, it's hard to not think like you guys eventually. I'm not lonely per se though. I mean I have a whole universe of people right now. Eventually I won't when the last thing dies but... you know, that's a long way off at least. I guess I'm a little in the dumps though. My brother died recently. His new form's not the same. Obviously. I got really used to him being the way he was before he changed after ... well... me." She waves her hands a bit. "Long confusing story, not goign to get into it." She props herslf up on her elbows. "I'm not lonely though. How can a person be lonely when there's so many people in existence. It gets monotonous sometimes though. Most of my brothers and sisters have very little to do with the living on a personal level."

PG: Karen Starr tilts her head, "Brother? Whom was your brother? You have other brothers and sisters? Oh do tell! I think my family is screwed up, you must have some seriously interesting family reunions." She leans forward, hands clasped on her desk, keenly watching the pale woman in front of her. "They must have jobs like you do. Right? Hmm. Any of them good looking?"

Death: Death waves her hand a little. "I'd rather not talk about it." deciding not to discuss Dream or the other Endless. "Good looking.... um..." She shrugs. "The other Kara actually met my OLDER brother, Destiny ... she just doesnt remember it. It's a time travel thing. Time travel messes up all sorts of things."

PG:

Karen Starr sits back, a smug look on her face, "Dream and Destiny, huh? I bet Time is another one, isn't it?" She sighs softly, shaking her head, "I have Death herself show up in my office to warn me of an impending universial or multiversial destruction and I can't think of anything to talk about. I know the minute you leave a ton of questions will flood my mind."

Karen smiles at Death, "I understand the whole having trouble with your family. My family is only technically related to me...." She snaps her fingers, "That's a question. What happened to my universe?"

She shrugs her shoulders, "I mean. God told me that they continued on, but not like I would understand it. It confused the hell out of me. You were there, I'm guessing, when my universe was obliterated. Can you shed anymore light on it? .... " She hesitates and adds, "... Please?"

Death: Death shrugs. "I took them all away. It's what I do. Your universe died. This one will eventually as well. Sorry if I seem blaise about it... it's a big picture thing." She stops leaning down on the desk. "Just so you know, I didnt cause your universe to die. It was just time for it to go so I made sure it was as easy as possible for everyone there. Present company excepted."

Death sort of seems iritated with her self about it though. "You know, I'm not only there when people die. I'm here when they're all born. I know every single one of you. But ... you know, what I do - it's important. It has to happen."

PG: Karen Starr nods slightly, "No. I understand. Life and Death are important things. But how do you handle stuff like what happened? From everything I was told, my universe wasn't destroyed, it ceased to exist. Like it never was. That's the part that always got me. My Superman was getting old, Lois was getting old. I knew one day they would die. That one day I would take his place. But I didn't... I ended up here. There is a Superman here, that doesn't seem to be aging by the way, and even another version of me. I seem like some sort of redundant joke."

Karen begins to scowl, jaw jutting out a bit in challenge, "Where is my foster father? Where is Lois? Are they anywhere? What the hell is going on with all of this stuff?" The more she talks, the more agitated she becomes. That famous Power Girl temper, working itself into a frothing rage.

"Now I'm some sort of freakin' chess piece in a game between God and the Devil? Several The Devils? Why me? Why me for any of this?" Now she's standing and has her palms flat on the desk, there is the sound of creaking wood as the big oak object strains to hold out against her strength. She is now eyeing Death with a dangerous gleam in her brown eyes, "Tell me why."

Death: Death looks over at Karen. "You're not redundant. You're obviously special enough that it wasnt your time to go with the rest of your universe. I'm not going to tell you why though - you wouldnt understand the why. And it's not really a chess match - that would imply two sides are equal. It's more like a science experiment to see what happens.Why you? Why not. I was around long before the Earth was. Long before Krypton too. Heck, long before your particular universe. And the one thing I've learned from all that time? There's not always a why. You just need to be content with the 'is' sometimes without having a 'why'." She then gets up and looks you right in the eye. "Now sit down Kara, and calm down. Right now." She pauses and adds, "Please."

PG: Karen Starr actually growls softly at Death before she backs down, removing her hands from the desk which now have finger sized holes in the wood, "I'll be ready when the time comes..." She walks around the desk and heads for the door out of her office, she pauses, hand on the doorknob, "One day though... The universe is going to ask for my help... And I'm going to say, "No. All you've ever did was take away from me. Why should I save you?" "

That said, she opens the door and walks out on Death itself, but not before saying, "Put my snowglobes back where you found them, please."

Death: When you walk out of the office, Death is sitting at your secretary's desk. "You'll say yes because it's your nature. It's my nature to make sure people arent around forever. Much as I might want them to be sometimes. If the universe asks for your help and you say no? That's your choice. People will die, but people die anyway. It happens. Someone else might do the right thing instead. I'm not really that worried about that though. Because it's your nature to do the right thing." She winks.

"I'm going to give you the gift of remembering this entire encounter by the way, long as you don't go and let it change your nature. Try to cheer up a little and live in the now okay?" She snaps her finger and your secretary is in the chair instead of Death.

PG: Karen Starr is then busy for the next thirty minutes trying to calm down a throughly confused and upset personal secretary. In the end she gives her a couple of days off with pay.