2013-05-29 - Kara and Tim Do Lunch - Take Two

Last time that Tim tried to schedule a casual lunch with Kara, there was a jewelry store robbery to interrupt things. But, Tim's feeling much more positive that the two Titans will get through a meal and a conversation today. He's arrived at the meeting place, Saluggi's pizzeria in TriBeCa, about 10 minutes early. He's casually waiting outside, leaning against the wall in a pseudo-James Dean stance, casually drumming his palms against the wall to the beat of a Blink 182 song on his mp3 player.

Kara Zor-El lands in an alleyway and, within a few seconds, changes into her civilian clothes. It's a good thing for superspeed with these quick changes. I mean, it's not like there are places to change clothes out on the street. She thinks to herself, too bad there aren't many phone booths anymore - those would probably make for really good place to quickly change clothes. She walks out of the alley and down the street, seeing Robin being all... cool and stuff. She waves at him, jogging over to him (at normal speed, obviously). "Hey. I -love- this place, great idea!"

Tim smiles at Kara and shrugs a bit. "Honestly, I've never been here. It just had the best rating on Yelp for the area." He pulls the earbuds out and winds them around the mp3 player, stuffing everything in the pocket. "I've got a booth reserved for us, off in the corner and away from the crowds so we can talk without worry." He opens the door for the blonde Kryptonian, letting her enter first. The waiter inside ushers them to the promised corner booth and hands them menus and glasses of water. "So, how's your week been?" Tim asks with a smile.

Kara Zor-El heads in when the door is opened for her and heads into the corner booth, scooting in there. "Well.... It's been going okay. I actually just got back from Massachusetts. Did you know there are vampires?" she rubs her neck a bit. "And apparently when they drink Kryptonian blood they blow up and turn into ashes." Yep, that's a conversation starter, for sure.

Last time, it was Abomination and nuclear missiles, this time - vampires.

Tim arches an eyebrow at this little revelation. "Yes on vampires. No on the general population in Massachusetts. And definitely no on the K-blood thing. Although it makes sense considering you guys are big, waling, solar energy cells." Tim smiles, then gets a quirk in the corner of his mouth like he's worried he said something wrong. "Ummm...no offense..."

Kara Zor-El rubs her neck again. "Really hurt when it bit me though. I'm not used to that - except for that fight with Darkseid I haven't actually gotten bled or anything like that since I came to Earth." She leans forward and smiles, "No offense taken. Enough about me, what have you been doing?"

Tim nods along with the story, smiling. but when Kara asks him about what he's been doing, the smile fades. "Just some clean-up work in Gotham," he says idly swirling his glass of ice water before taking a drink. "There's someone new in Gotham. Girl with energy blasters. I got the assignment to meet with her and get some information." Tim shrugs it off, then looks over to see the waiter approaching. The smile is back up and he turns to Kara. "What do you feel up for on a pizza. I'm good with everything but the anchovies."

Kara Zor-El tilts her head. "Well if you need any sort of backup, you know I'd be happy to help out." She pauses. "And pepperoni. Definitely pepperoni. And sausage. It's like eating hot dogs on pizza. I just try to ignore where it comes from."

"Okay, large pepperoni, sausage, and red peppers," Tim says to the waiter. "And two Soder Colas," he adds as the waiter walks off. "I appreciate it, Kara, but I've got all the back-up I need." Tim doesn't seem all that energetic about the task. "I meet up with the girl last night. And I did just what He would have wanted me to do." There's no real need to clarify who 'He' is. "I gained this girls trust, bonded with her some, then snagged a stray hair off her cloak when I had the chance so that we could get information about her."The Teen Wonder sighs and slumps back some in the booth. "I know it had to be done, she's a dangerous unknown. But that doesn't mean I have to feel good about being a heel, right?"

Kara Zor-El listens curiously. "I'm guessing she's some sort of criminal right?" She thumbs at the little menu thing on the table displaying how the pizzeria now sells stuffed crust breadsticks, whatever that means. Then looks back at Robin. "Hey.. i don't think it's that terrible. I mean... look at me. When I came to Earth, He and my cousin both had my basically locked up at the Fortress, then He and Diana insisted on me spending all that time on Themyscira. Taking a strand of hair to analyze doesn't really mean betraying her trust, does it?"

Kara Zor-El makes air-quotes whenever saying 'He'

"No, not really," Tim says with a shrug. "I just hate the pretense. She's not exactly a criminal; she's just going after bad guys with more abandon than we think is acceptable. Blast first, take them down, don't worry if there are any survivors. She's supposed to be from the future, and her weapons tech jibes with that, just that she's taking the whole 'war on crime' thing a bit too literally." Tim sighs and sits back up. "She's a girl about our age, trying to save a future we don't know about yet, wanting to make some kind of connection so that she doesn't feel as alone, and I took advantage of it. Heck, I even took advantage of the fact that she said I remind her of her ex-boyfriend that died. All so that I could get information that the big guy wanted."

Kara Zor-El pauses. "Well... um.... do you think she would have given you the information if you didn't act like that?" She stops talking as the sodas are put on the table, at which point she takes a sip before continuing once the waiter leaves. "I mean... I don't tend to agree with... like... most of what your boss does, but he's always so infuriatingly RIGHT in the end so... I dunno." She shrugs a bit. "I might not be the right person to ask about being deceptive in order to get to the goal. I think I'd flunk out big time in spy school."

"I know," Tim says with a sigh. "He's always right. And somehow that makes it worse." He looks over at Kara smiling a bit. "I guess...I'm not asking you if what I did was right. I just...want to make sure that I'm still a good person, in spite of some of the crappy things that I have to do that turn out to be the right things to do."

Kara Zor-El leans forward, "Tim, you're like one of the best people I know, and I know some really great people." She leans over the table and gives Tim a kiss on the forehead. She sits back down as the pizza arrives though.

Tim blushes at the kiss, and gives Kara a smile. "Thanks." He nods his thanks to the waiter as the pizza is delivered, then turns back to look at Kara. "And for what it's worth, you're pretty darn amazing, too. Anyways...what's up on the agenda for you. Besides saving the world a couple times, I mean." He chuckles and reaches to take a slice after Kara's taken her portion.

Kara Zor-El munches on a slice of pizza. "Nah, I'm not. Just your average, superstrong, invulnerable flying girl from another planet that fights green giants and vampires." She takes a bite. "Dime a dozen, I'm sure." she says with a grin. Hey is Kara learning to tell jokes? She says, "But seriously... on the agenda? I don't know... I'm still thinking about college, and I'm still trying to figure out how to rent out apartments in that building 'He' gave me. I have trouble doing that. I've given away like... 3 apartments already."

Tim folds up a slice and tears out a bite, chewing thoughtfully. "You know, I say you should definitely go to college. Not for the knowledge aspect; you could learn everything you ever need to know in a single afternoon, anyways. But you should go for the social aspect. Meeting people. Making friends who aren't part of 'the business'. You know, having an actual, normal life." He finishes another bite before addressing the other issue. "And depending on where the apartment building is, you could always investigate turning it into Section 9 housing. Government assistance. You wouldn't get much money, but you don't exactly need a lot of money, do you? And you'd be helping out a lot of needy families that couldn't afford good housing otherwise."

Kara Zor-El nods a little, staring at the pizza for a bit. "Yeah, I totally feel sometimes that I'm missing on the 'normal Earth Girl experience' and think I should just go for it. You know - sorority parties and pillow fights and keggers and-" What sort of movies has Kara been watching? She takes a bite of pizza. "And getting into trouble with the Dean." Yep, apparently she's been watching a lot of 80's movies. "It would just be cool. But then right as I think 'hey I should do that... mole men from.... the X dimension attack... or something like that. And I realize I'm really not going to be able to get normal stuff. Did you know I once tried to just take off a day to go dancing at a club, and a giant empathic psionic dinosaur attacked? I mean... REALLY!"

She shakes her head. "Oh and with the apartment building, it's a luxury apartment in midtown Metropolis, actually. I've just given a few apartments to some people who could use it. I think Batman intended for me to have a replenishable form of income, on top of the million." She shrugs.

"Just because it's a luxury building, doesn't mean you can't set the rent to be accessible to low income families. Ask George Lucas about him converting part of Skywalker Ranch into low income housing in the middle of Marin County." Tim chuckles and grins. "They neighbors really should have just let him build that new film studio there..."

Kara's other comments draw a look of concern from Tim. "Kara, I'm serious. Establish a normal life. you can do so much, but you have to learn to pick what battles you do fight. You can't fight every single battle, stop every single crime. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to do that. Your cousin knows this, which is why he doesn't try to solve every little problem on Earth. We have to figure out some things for ourselves; humanity can't just let you and your cousin do everything for us. You need to have some off-duty time so that you're just you, with no expectations to dash off."

Kara Zor-El concentrates on sipping her soda as you talk to her. She sighs. "I know... I know. I just... It's REALLY hard to just block it out. Did you know I mass packed the walls of my room so I could try to relax in it? Doesn't really help as much as I'd like - I can still feel vibrations and see through the walls and the sounds are only muffled." She pauses. "You're right though. I need to get a regular life like Kal has." She scrunches her nose. "I just really hate the whole secret identity thing. I mean.. with Kal, his 'secret identity' - that's who he really is. I mean that's how he grew up. It's the other identity that's the secret one. I don't have that."

Tim takes a drink of his soda, then leans on his elbows on the table. "Why should it be any different for you? You can just be yourself, who you were back home. You still have the same likes, the same interests. You just need to alter them a bit for Earth. Don't totally change yourself at your core, just make a few cosmetic alterations." He smiles reassuringly at Kara. "Glasses on girls is a real cute trend nowadays, after all."

Kara Zor-El pouts. "Hate those stupid glasses. Did you know Kal wanted me to wear a wig also? I mean he doesn't wear a wig." She smiles a bit. "I guess you're right though. I need to try to do normal stuff more and college would be a good start for that." She pauses. "Especially now that I don't need to worry about getting a scholarship that would take it away from someone who can really use it. Any ideas on where though?"

Tim chuckles and smiles wide. "Well...." he says in a conspiratorial fashion. "You know that Kon and I, and I think Cassie, are all going to the same school. that would be the obvious, not to mention fun, choice. Also, all of us going to the same college would help us cover for each other in case of emergencies." The smile turns into a wry smirk. "Just don't expect me to take all your American lit notes while you dash off to stop a volcano in Bora-Bora." He chuckles, then shrugs. "The other option is, where is Dedrick going to school? Or is he going to school? Either way, you could attend a college close to him."

Kara Zor-El watches you. "Not that I don't think that's an awesome idea, but didnt you -just- say the reason I should go to college would be to make friends who arent part of... " she uses air quotes, "'the business?'" She grins a bit "It would be fun though. Hrm... I don't know where Dedrick is going to school actually." She thinks. "That's really something I should know, isn't it?"

"Ummm...yeah. Probably." Tim coughs a bit, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Kara mentioning she didn't know where Dedrick was going to school. But he recovers with a shrug and a smile. "But hey, even if you go to college with the three of us, there's nothing that says you can't make other friends there. We're not all going to take the same classes or have the same interests, after all. Just think of us three as like a foundation for you to build on. We'll always be there for you and you can safely build up friends and connections away from us." Tim smiles wide, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, I'm sure i'm going to make other friends since Kon isn't really all that interested in stuff like Dungeons and Dragons. So, I'll find some others that like playing it and hang out with them from time to time. See? Easy to branch out when you have other interests."

Kara Zor-El listens some more as she munches on her pizza. "I never actually saw a dragon. I saw that dinosaur though. Oh and the only dungeon was that one on Apocalypse." She smiles a bit, "But I guess you're right - it might be nice to go to college where I already know some people."

Tim blushes and looks at the pizza. "Ummm ... no. 'Dungeons & Dragons'. It's a game. Played by nerds. Like me." He shrugs and chuckles looking back up at Kara. "But yeah, having your friends as a safety net and foundation...it's going to make things easier." Tim cheerfully grabs another slice and starts chomping on it. "Anyways, once Conner and I have the new apartment sometime next week, we'll all get together and talk about it."

Kara Zor-El tilts her head. "Well Kon says I'm a nerd. I'll play in your dungeons and dragons. Long as it's not a contact sport - wouldn't want to hurt anyone." She pauses when Tim talks about the new apartment for him and Conner. "Have you planned on how to furnish it yet? You have to trythis amazing place called Ikea. It's Swedish, I think, and they have EVERYTHING there. They even serve little hot dogs and cookies."

Tim laughs and nods to Kara. "Yes, I know about Ikea. And yeah, the meatballs tehre are awesome. We'll see how the decorating goes. I'm sure Cassie is going to want her input as well." Tim smiles and shakes his head. Then, he looks up and around. "Huh. You hear that?"

Kara Zor-El peers at Tim. "I hear a lot of stuff. But nothing unusual. She perks up to listen more intently. "Nope. I mean I hear a plane having engine trouble in Connecticut, but someone's already on it." She looks at Tim curiously. "What exactly do you hear?" Hrm ... this must be what it's like when Kara does that to other people.

Tim smiles wide. "Nothing. No sirens. No alarms. No alerts going off. No screams for help...We actually made it through a lunch and conversation without the world ending." He smirks and finishes off the slice of pizza he was working on. "That's gotta be some kind of first."

Kara Zor-El blinks. "You're.. you're right! It's like crime and disaster took the afternoon off!" She grins happily and takes her own slice and finishes it. "By the way, I brought a vampire I froze with my freeze breath back to the Fortress of Solitude. I want to see if I can cure it."

Annnd there goes the relaxing day.