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Post by Sarah Rogers on Jan 8, 2014 18:01:50 GMT
She stood in the Compound's main building, waiting for the potential recruits to arrive. Her father, S.H.I.E.L.D., Director Steve Rogers, had contacted all of his former teammates, and unaffiliated heroes he knew and trusted, and invited their kids and sidekicks to join the newest incarnation of the Young Avengers team, which would be lead by his youngest daughter and successor. The room was open, letting in the warm, Spring, California air into the room. It was only just after lunch time, so none of the potential recruits had arrived yet, and she had the entire building to herself, giving her time to think about her decision to take up the Captain America name and mantel from her father, mere days ago.
She sat down in the small room which would serve as her office for the time being, setting in a black, swivel chair, behind a mahogany desk, which had several file folders resting on top of it. The folders contained pictures and information on each of the recruits who were expected to be arriving soon, making this seem more like she was interviewing them for a big corporate job, rather than meeting with old friends she already knew. It was just her way of keeping this professional, and to be fair, she only knew some of them. Even those she already knew, she was only close to two or three.
She was in full uniform, her sword and shield leaning against the wall, just within arm's reach. While she didn't suspect or anticipate their being a need for them, she knew that a good warrior should always be prepared to fight. She was trained by the Amazon's of Themyscira, after all.
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Post by Jeff Solaris on Jan 8, 2014 18:24:29 GMT
A sonic boom happened as an individual arrived. Clad in a black and gold outfit with the symbol of Dal Kir-Ta's Family on it and armor plating over the chest and legs...well a light armor plating anyway made to expose him to yellow sun radiation, there stood Ultra Boy. Ultra Boy also had a suit case in hand and a headset on his head. Today he was going to join the Young Avengers and make the first step in order so that one day the reputation of the Luthor Family might be sterling silver instead of tarnished bronze. Jeff had a lot of plans to bring the Luthor Family Reputation out of the Gutter and make it shine like the power of the beautiful sun he drew his abilities as a Kryptonian. His main goals involved his own personal survival.
"Sorry I'm late. Had a little something to pick up. So Captain America. When this is over why don't we go to my place for a meal perhaps? Also here. Something I've been working on. I want you to bring your entire team with you Cap. For they must see this project. "
A shield was taken out of the case. It looked a lot like that of Sarah. This shield however was made out of Depleted Promethium, Titanium and Vanadium. The reputation of the Luthors was not the only thing he planned to improve upon. The Luthor Brand usually meant something illegal had been done. It too was going to be changed by Jeff to fit his plan to be a hero. Jeff was no hero, at least not yet in his own eyes. The only thing he had saved was money. Being Ultra Lad saved him from legal problems. For who would sue a superhero for saving people or fighting thugs? Or dealing with the people occasionally bold enough to rob Lex Corp. There weren't that many idiots though that dared rob his company.
"This shield may or may not be as durable as yours Captain America, but consider it my gift to you. You may paint it if you wish. I tried to get it as close to the original shield that you currently use as possible in terms of weight and durability. So what shall I do for my audition? Lift the Eiffel Tower? Fight you? Maybe take down some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents likely watching from other areas of the compound? Perhaps defeat you in hand to hand combat? Or all of the above? What test shall you put me to Captain America? What shall it be?"
Jeff wanted to ace whatever test Sarah put in front of him. As once he aced the test he likely could be in. Of course he had to balance his business, superheroing in Metropolis and also his affairs with the group he was joining. A balancing act was going to be hard. It was also going to be difficult to secure a code name for himself when he was older. Ultra Man was the name of a villain and that meant he could not use it as his code name. Coming up with something original was going to be next to impossible. All the good superhero names had already been taken. Jeff scanned around the compound with his X-Ray vision to see if anyone was there that he thought was. Should there be more than 20 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and any lead boxes nearby he was planning on making a strategic retreat. Fleeing was a word a Luthor knew well and seeing as how he had no protection against Kryptonite presently...well...something needed to be made.
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Post by Sarah Rogers on Jan 11, 2014 0:42:01 GMT
Ofcourse, she knew all about Ultra Boy, a Kryptonian who protected Metropolis, just like Superman and his kin. What separated the two of them was the fact that Ultra Boy wore a strange looking armor, and symbol on his chest, not to mention the color scheme was different too. When he walked in, she looked up, and stood to her feet, a smile gracing her face as she extended her right hand to him. "Ah, Ultra Boy, right on time. I have to say, I was surprised when I heard you wanted to join my new team, as opposed to the Titans. Still, their loss." She then sat down, back in her seat, and pulled out his particular file folder, before opening it up, so they could both see it's contents. "Now we aren't going to force eachother to divulge secrets or anything like that, but I do ask that you be honest with me, and the rest of the team at all times. We may not be family like the Avengers or Justice League, but I will not put up with being lied to, right to my face. Understand?"
She nodded and accepted the shield, before laying it down on top of the desk, to the right of her. "Thankyou for the gift, and the invitation. We will consider your offer, after the team has been formed and members have been selected. Steve Rogers and the Avengers may have called for this, but I will be the one to chose who joins. Now, since we haven't been formally introduced, we'll refer to one another by our codenames for the time being. When we have earned eachother's trust, first names will suffice."Her voice and body language gave away nothing, keeping her emotions and posture as neutral as she could, not being cold, nor being overly kind either. This was a meeting of their generations most powerful beings, the two of them at the top of the list most definitely. He was definitely appearing more open than herself, but then Sarah did have secrets she wanted to protect, and secrets she wasn't ready to share with someone she had just met.
Inwardly, she smiled at his eagerness, his excitement almost contagious. Thankfully, she had long ago learned to mask her emotions, when she needed to. "Settle down. First I think we should go over some things, before we jump into a test."In the folders were news clippings and magazine articles about the boy infront of her, from saving children from burning buildings, battling giant robots, as well as him facing off against B and C level supervillains. There were also articles that were more than a little critizing, talking about his supposed connections to LexCorp, Intergang, and even Lobo. "Tell me, are you what you seem to be, or are there secrets that I need to be made aware of?"She knew that the media loved to sensationalize things to the max, and that there were numerous reasons for this rumors and claims, so she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
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Post by Jeff Solaris on Jan 11, 2014 1:12:59 GMT
Jeff thought about what he was going to say. She had asked for his honesty. Considering giving her the information as she had asked honestly Jeff once more X-rayed the area for any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with pieces of Kryptonite in the area. When he found none, he thought about what to say. Some of the media was correct. Indeed he had ties to Lex Corp as he was a Luthor beneath the mask. Revealing said problem was not going to be a wise idea as it might lead to him being shut down as a hero. "There is one secret you must be aware of. First though we should leave this place and be away from any of the eavesdropping and recording devices here. I would rather it not be known to the world. However as likely it has to be on the record, I'll tell you now or rather show you."
Jeff took off his mask. His face was that of Jeff Luthor who had recently taken over control of Lex Corp. Lex Corp had started to break connections to the Black Market and move into more legal areas of commerce and business. Lex Corp had also started working to obtain ownership of the rest of Metropolis as part of plans for a major urban renewal. "There is one other secret. Recently I have started paying Intergang to retrieve all pieces of Kryptonite on the Black Market and deliver it to a place where the Kryptonite is destroyed. The only reason I am using them as I did not want to get involved on the Black Market. There is nothing else you need to know about me presently. "
Jeff looked at her. His X-Ray Vision had not noticed any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or lead lined boxes in the general vicinity. Thinking about what to say next he exclaimed. "If this makes me an undesirable for your team, I shall honor that and leave." Jeff had a plan. Befriending Captain America could help him a lot actually. Jeff liked being on a team and would prefer Captain America's team. Personally all he needed was a plan of attack that could be put to use. If he was to become a hero he may have to shed all connections to his dad. Kryptonite was one of his weaknesses he planned to eventually become immune to or at least close to anyway. Right now though he was going to need to continue work on the Shields that would provide him his powers. S.H.I.E.L.D. likely might try to shut down the research on that if it was learned he indeed had that project in the works. Jeff finally made up his mind and waited. Hopefully what he had told her would not make him have trouble. His mask was slid back onto his face.
"The choice is ultimately yours Captain America."
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Post by Sarah Rogers on Feb 8, 2014 9:06:22 GMT
To say the sight of the young Jeff Luthor as Metropolise's young hero was a surprise, would have been a blatant understatement. She knew of Lex's hatred of super beings, more precisely ones he could not control, and to discover that his son was supposedly a human/Kryptonian hybrid was not something she would have ever suspected. Still, she understood why he was hesitant to speak about it openly, in fear of the fact that a lot of the heroes just wouldn't beable to trust him, due to his lineage. "I see. Well, this won't be a problem for me, but I will tell you right now that if I even think you'll betray me or the team, I will personally haul your unconscious and broken form to the Negative Zone. Do I make myself clear?"Her tone and body language gave no room for debate or discussion on the matter, and she was more than ready to make good on her threat. For all she knew, Jeff could actually have been a clone of Lex, whose body had been infused with Kryptonian DNA or undergone a process similar to that which gave the villain Count Nefaria his powers, as Lex was a brilliant man, in multiple fields of sciences, and had access to technologies and resources that most people would not. She also understood that Jeff could indeed be his biological son, and be genuinely trying to do good, despite his the Luthor legacy. She sighed, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"I also understand that we are not are parents, and therefore shouldn't be held to answer for their actions, good or otherwise. That being said, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and grant you membership into the team. As I have seen footage of you in action, I will forgo that part of the test, for the time being. We can test the extent of your strength, speed and control of your powers once we have more members, and the Avengers are in attendance, as they are far more experienced in dealing with and containing beings of our power levels." She felt that she should call on her Mom, Simon Williams, as well as Thor, to be there incase they needed to subdue Jeff for any reason. Just to be safe. She could also gut him with her sword, as a last resort.
His comment about using and employing Intergang caught her by surprise, and made her wonder if she had made a mistake in accepting him. Intergang, in all their incarnations, was a group of thugs who couldn't be trusted not to cause harm. "Are you out of your damn mind?!" She stood up so fast that she would have been a blur to a normal human, her hands going for Jeff's throat to lift him up into the air. "Intergang is a criminal organization with alien tech powerful enough to level cities and the callousness to use them. I could have you arrest and even make a case to have you stripped of your powers, just for associating with those bastards!" Now while it would have been well within her powers as a Young Avenger to strip away his powers, she wasn't sure she could do so, since she wasn't 100% sure he was a Kryptonian, in the first place. That would take a DNA test, for her to be positive. Still, she was mad enough to attempt it, after hearing about his stunt.
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Post by Jeff Solaris on Feb 8, 2014 23:22:50 GMT
The words of Sarah struck a chord with him. Using Intergang for anything had been a mistake of his. It was also one he had corrected properly in Metropolis about 3 hours ago by arresting every last member of Intergang he could get his hands on. It had taken him a bit, and that was why he had been a few minutes late on arrival. Logic dictated that he do something to make amends. "You are aware I cut ties with Intergang this morning right?" asked Jeff, as he sidestepped her attempt to lift him.
"I only used them to trace back a large influx of Kryptonite into Metropolis. I see now that using them for anything, even that was a mistake. I do hope you can forgive me. I still wish to be a member of your group, the Young Avengers if you'll have me."
Jeff then looked at her. She obviously needed time to cool down, and relax. With that in mind he said to her.
"When you have had time to cool down, contact me."
Jeff made his exit from the building as quick as he could, using his full speed to run out the door of the building. Once outside, he flew away all the way back to Metropolis. Jeff was many things, but he was not an idiot. Going up against her would be an unwise decision. She needed to cool off, and so he had best avoid her for a while. Later he might consider officially assisting them. However right now he could not allow himself to do so because of that very problem. Jeff had a long way to go before he could even consider himself a hero.
-Exit thread-
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*crickets chirp in the background*