Participants:
| Scene Title | Vampire Diary |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | After reconnecting, Robyn tells Kendall what SESA is actually about, and invites him to come with her to Raytech. |
| Date | April 1, 2021 |
Fort Jay is a coastal star fort and former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay itself is the oldest defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a member of the Federalist Party, New York governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Secretary of State, and one of the "founding fathers" of the United States. It was built in 1794 to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes. From 1806 to 1904 it was named Fort Columbus, presumably for explorer Christopher Columbus. The National Park Service administered Fort Jay together with Castle Williams as the Governors Island National Monument until 2015, when it was repurposed to once again service official government operations in the wake of the civil war. Fort Jay is now the home of the New York branch of the SLC-Expressive Services Agency, or SESA.
Lunch at Fort Jay can always be a bit of a dodgy proposition, with potential issues ranging from having to dodge pranks from Lance and a stern word from Nicole or Voss, to the fact that the place is, to quote one frustrated and rather hungry agent just the other day, "a fucking island with no easy food acess".
All those reasons and more are why it's rare to see Robyn Roux still around Fort Jay this late most days. Her time on site at Fort Jay was limited as it was, more often choosing to work out of her office at Raytech than at home base.
The fact that Raytech had a decent cafeteria was a nice perk.
Still, today is one of those few days Robyn has found herself needing to work from the foodless island, in an effort to start getting things she needs squared away and assignments reassigned as she waits for more information about her inevitable trip out of this time. Not that anyone else knows that.
A coin slides into a soda machine, Robyn's expression thinning as she presses a button and only gets a red "sold out" digital readout. With a sigh, she shakes her head and instead presses the button for a different cola. "The things I do to make sure things transition smoothly," she grumbles as the bottle clatters through the machine, landing at the bottom with a thud.
Target acquired. Kendall had mostly kept himself entertained waiting after that, uh… rather peculiar interview, and the more appropriately businesslike meeting with HR. However, he did catch sight of a few familiar faces, one of which he was very interested in seeing again. Coincidentally, he didn't have to wait long because she happens to be coming out right now.
Sneak sneak. He's not invisible or anything this time, but walking softly is a skill nonetheless. While she's busy being annoyed at the vending machine, Kendall crosses over to stand behind her. "Never have what you need huh." Hopefully she doesn't have a trigger like Miu from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, he doesn't fancy getting judo thrown into the wall.
He's wearing something that could be described as 'business-casual' or perhaps 'business-almost', a big difference from the jeans and t-shirt he always wore.
Robyn's posture visibly stiffens, reaching to pick up the cane leaning against the vending machine. Taking it in hand, she turns around slowly, eyes narrowed at the source of a voice she doesn't seem to recognise. "No, it doesn't," she offers a bit stiffly as she regards Kendall; there's familiarity in her eyes, but it's clear she can't quite place why.
"But that's about how things go on this snackless island." A thin grin strains across her face. "Junior Agent? I've heard we were getting some new blood." Which is great for her, more people to shove her work to while she processes what's coming.
Oh. She doesn't recognize him. He probably looks like an adult, always fools people. "Well I guess we both look different after ten years. And uh I guess I am, now. Just applied today actually."
He holds out his hand and a small bouquet of flowers appears out of thin air, held out to her. "You wouldn't brain an old friend would you? Er, assuming we still are." If the illusion doesn't jog her memory maybe the awkwardness would? Kendall is suddenly uncertain about that. Ten years is a long time, after all.
"Kendall Cunningham, and I think it's trainee agent now? Always wanted to be an agent. I was thinking more spy but still better than real estate huh?" Grin. "Long time no see."
People change over the course of a decade, a point exemplified best both by the scar on Robyn's face and the way she regards Kendall as he speaks. It's only when he reveals his name that her eyes widen just enough to be noticeable. "Kendall?!" It's a bit more breathless than expected, clearly taken aback by Kendall's presence before her, much less here at Fort Jay.
"It's - Agent Trainee- why are you here?" comes across in a sort of harsh near whisper, eyes narrowing. "Never mind." Eyes flick over to the roses, head tilting slightly before she looks at him. There's only a moment between that and the sudden hug that follows. "Holy shit, it's good to see you, kid."
Kid. Yep, there's still that.
"Aw come on, you really can't call me a kid now." Which translates into open season for calling him that at every opportunity, naturally. "Why I'm here? Uh. Well to get a job, mostly. Heard a lot of people I knew joined up so decided to try it too." The flowers disappear when he's suddenly grabbed for a hug and he is a bit slow to hug her back out of surprise.
"Yeah, I did sort of disappear on everyone during the war but I swear I didn't die this time. I just uh…. Kind of had an 'adventure'. But nevermind that." He pulls away with a small laugh. "Trying to reconnect now that I finally made it back. Naturally that involved nearly scaring the shit out of Raquelle again, but there's a few more people I've been trying to find."
Kendall shrugs dismissively at that, then pulls out a brand new shiny ID. "Finally had to register, too." He still looks uncomfortable about that. "Though I've had plenty of fa-" wait no, government agency. Let's not talk about illegal things. He suddenly starts coughing. Woops. "Er you didn't hear anything."
Robyn is quick to snap up the ID, stepping past Kendall and turning it over in her hand. "I have an idea for those." The fake ones. "I've had to issue more than a few. I do a little bit of everything around here." The info on it looks legit too, good job Kendall. Rather than hand it back to him, though, she holds it out to her side.
When Kendall blinks, there's another Robyn walking along side her, one that looks identical as she leans forward to look at ID. "Looks good t' me," the other Robyn echos in an accent that sounds more Irish than the first Robyn's clearly French one, before looking and glancing up at Kendall. "Look at you learnin' how t' be an actual adult, kid."
The first Robyn snickers and offers the card back to Kendall, giving him an apologetic smile at her duplicate's comment.
"Hey-" when his ID is snatched he objects strenuously, because as is always the case, pictures on official IDs are horrible. His protest dies off in surprise when she brings out a second Robyn, and he looks over at her in confusion. "Did you steal my ability somehow?" Kendall can't really remember if Robyn's ability could even do that, and this other one is kind of… different?
"So, uh, I guess you're doing ok, then?" he asks hesitantly, holding his hand out for his ID. "You had to issue… fake ones?" So much for legality. "Or do you mean you've issued real ones? THIS one is real, thanks. Got it today." He smirks over at her and reaches into his pocket for a small bag, pulling out about a dozen IDs. These he will keep out of reach of sudden snatchings, thanks.
"Could call me a master of disguise now, heh."
"No." There's no immediate elaboration on which point, exactly, she's saying no to. Instead, Robyn motions to the bag. "And put those away for now," she remarks with a chuckle. "I won't tell anyone, but there's some real hardasses here."
"Usually, she's one of them," the light duplicate remarks, walking ever so slightly ahead of the pair as to stay in Robyn's peripheral vision. "An' no, kid, I'm actual. Not an illusion." There's a bit of a scathing edge to the dupe's tone, causing the other Robyn to glare at her.
"She's quasi real. She's lacking in a bit of substance, but otherwise… you know." Her own thing. Moving through the hall, Robyn comes to stop at the door to an office, one of the only ones in the pit area full of familiar faces. It, in fact, bares her name on it.
"So why here for a job?" Her tone is marked with curiosity, words probing as she reaches down for the handle.
The little bag of IDs disappear quite literally, though he still shoves them in his pocket anyway. "Er, sounds like some shit happened while I was off having fun out west." Kendall keeps shooting sidelong glances over to QuasiRobyn, but just kinda shrugs it off again.
"Well I've always wanted to do what I can to help people and this seems like the best way to do that." Pause. "Better than putting on a costume and running around like a vigilante, anyway." Oh yes, Kendall remembers Magnes' little stint as a superhero. "Though I did come up with a codename if that ever ended up being… a thing." Some parts of Kendall never grew up, clearly. "Do you use codenames?" he asks hopefully.
—
Robyn can't help but smile at Kendall's motivation for seeking a job at SESA, familiar and pure as they are in his description. As the door opens, Robyn tilts her head towards the inside, but it doesn't seem to be at Kendall. Instead, her light duplicate vanishes from beside her with a snap crack, reappearing in one of the chairs in the room with only the faintest, quickly fading trail of light to mark her path..
Then she motions, this time with her hand, for Kendall to head in. "No," is repeated in a tone similar to before. "Well, I guess it depends on the situation. Most agents wouldn't, but…" She trails off for a moment, grin widening as she steps in after Kendall.
Her office is mostly barren, though the way furniture is shifted around makes it clear it wasn't like that. But it's the small details that tell a story here. A picture of a young boy on her desk by her computer, next to another picture of a young man of asian descent. A painting hanging on her wall of a rainy night through an unknown lens. A single flask sitting next to a lunch bag. Perhaps most alarmingly, what appears to be an actual samurai sword in it's saya laying across her desk.
"I did when I worked with Wolfhound. A few other times." Robyn's eyes staying on the dupe as she moves around her desk. "I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"
That, at least, is an honest question.
"Not unless I'm expected to do something from day 1?" His words are unsure, he's still trying to learn how the 'Real World' works in regards to this 'job' thing. When the duplicate snaps into the room, Kendall raises his eyebrows over at the normal Robyn, peering into the office. "How come you have an office, anyway?" Kendall asks, looking around. Whoa, there's a sword. SO COOL. Ahem.
Kendall isn't being overly snooping in her office, but some things you can't help but notice. He points at the sword, looking back at her. "Prop, ceremonial, or can you use it?" He's not aware that the cane she already had was anything but a cane, after all, or that might've been something super cool too.
Even now, however, he noticed how Robyn keeps eying the dupe, so something is up there. "And, uh…" he isn't sure how to bring it up, so he just gestures her way.
Robyn offers a scoffing laugh as she looks around the office, as though the answer to Kendall's question should be pretty obvious. "I'm no ordinary agent," is said with a clear confidence to it; this is something that, for all her other anxieties, she truly believes. "Not by a long shot." As if that wasn't clear enough by the sword Kendall points at.
"Don't worry about her," Robyn instead offers with a nonchalant shrug. "I can make duplicates out of light. It's a pretty new thing."
"It's been a year," the other Robyn protests with a roll of her eyes. "An' you're still actin' like it's no big deal an' all."
"Anyway, I'm one of the senior agents here, as well as being a special agent. Technically, my main office is at Raytech, not here. You happened to find me on one of the few days I'm actually at the Fort." Another shrug. "As for the sword, this one is an iaito, I bring it here to practice when I need a break. I've been studying swordsmanship for a while now."
"Teach me, senpai." Kendall smirks over at Robyn, the real one. "Then again it might not turn out too well, I've seen too many fake fighting movies and shows, I'd probably try copying Rurouni Kenshin instead."
At Robyn's declaration that she isn't an ordinary agent, Kendall looks over at that other one thoughtfully. "Duplicates with light, huh. That makes sense, I guess." he hesitates, then goes to poke the clone in the shoulder. Well, that's kind of rude. "Been meaning to go to Raytech actually to say hi but I keep chickening out."
The expression that Robyn gives Kendall is somewhere between discouraging and annoyed. The light duplicate rolls her eyes as Kendall's finger passes through her; it's clear it's not hard light that makes her up.
An eyebrow quirking up, the dupe looks down at Kendall's hand and then up at him. "What, were you expectin' some sorta Green Lantern shit?" See! She remembers the comic stuff Kendall taught her! "Not that lucky, kid."
Even as the dupe laughs at her own apparent misfortune, Robyn is picking the katana up off her desk. "I don't know who that is. And no." As far as teaching goes at least. Holding it at her side, she glances over at Kendall. "Come with me tomorrow. You can see what I do. We'll need someone covering Raytech while I'm gone."
"Um. I'd probably refuse anyway to be honest." Kendall shakes his head uncomfortably, stepping away from the clone with a light shrug. "I don't… I didn't want to have to kill anyone. I'm better off running or avoiding fights. Cowardly, I know, but…" he glances at her katana and then he has one, too. "Better to scare away someone who thinks it's real rather than actually fight." a sheet of flame flares down the length of it, and he laughs. "Plenty of tricks. Without hurting anyone."
The flaming katana disappears, and he tilts his head, regarding Robyn. "Go with you…? Uh, sure, I guess. Would that be ok though? Wait, covering? For you?" Blinkblink. "A noob?" a quick glance at the clone, expecting commentary on that last bit, and Kendall frowns thoughtfully. "Going on a mission, huh?"
"Oh my God, that's so fuckin' cute." The dupe cackles, making it uncertain if she's referring to Kendall's attitude or the flaming sword - either way, there's a clear mocking edge to her voice. "Y'think a fake sword's gonna do much in this world?"
Robyn Prime lets out a heavy sigh and shakes her head. "Please don't be rude." Lips thinning, Robyn looks up at Kendall and frowns. "She's right, though." Again, she motions to a chair for Kendall to sit. "Just showing off a sword won't scare the kind of people we're typically looking for as much as you're hoping… unless you know how to use it."
And even then, Robyn's never taken her sword on an assignment. She figures her superiors would frown on that.
"Working in SESA means inevitably, you're going to be in a situation where you or someone else is going to end up hurt, and it'll be because of your action or inaction." Katana still at her side, Robyn crosses back around her desk towards the middle of the room. "I mean, not every day is life or death, but… it can find you when you least expect it."
It sounds like she's talking from experience, judging from the tone in her voice.
"I'm going… away for a while. No idea how long. I mean obviously, you wouldn't be taking over for me immediately, but I'd love to use it to train someone up for the task." Offering Kendall a smile, her eyes dip down to the ground for a brief moment. She doesn't have the heart to tell him she's not coming back to SESA after wards.
"Yeah I… I figured. But I'm going to use everything I got to my advantage, and even if it isn't a flaming sword there's still some things that would make anyone flinch, even subconsciously. I went through a lot of stuff over the last ten years, some stuff I'm not proud of but did anyway because I had to. I was under the impression that it was Wolfhound, not SESA, that went around hunting dangerous criminals. SESA's more like… Evolved police, right? But if I have to learn how to use a weapon that's fine." Kendall quickly glances from Robyn to the clone, then away.
"Well if you think I'd be a good fit for covering you while you're gone, I don't see any harm in it. Anything uh, special with it? Raytech's one of the ones making all the cool tech, sounds…" awesome? Exciting? AMAZING?? With effort, he tones it down, no need to get too enthusiastic. "Great!" Lame. "…see anything really fun there?"
Robyn stares at Kendall for a second, expression somewhat unreadable as she looks him over. "Kendall… what do you think being the 'evolved police' entails?" A bit of a frown forms on her face, even as she turns a bit away from Kendall - though the dupe stays in the corner of her vision. "Wolfhound hunts… war criminals and the like. They're bounty hunters. SESA? We're detectives and cops. Just because a criminal local doesn't make them less dangerous."
Shifting the blade so that the saya curves upwards, she closes her eyes and slightly lowers her head. "Do you wanna hear a story, Kendall? Think you'll understand what I mean afterwards."
"I didn't mean to imply it's not dangerous at times, but most of the time cops aren't involved in dangerous stuff either. It's the moments where it is dangerous you have to watch out for. A lot of times it's better to try and defuse situations instead of getting into a gunfight, or an evolved pissing match. Right? Regardless, I'm not going to back out of this, I already committed." Well, Kendall is still pretty new to this, so he has a feeling he'll find out.
When Robyn brings up storytime though, Kendall tilts his head. "Yeah, I get the feeling it isn't a story with a happy ending, huh. But sure, let's hear it."
Robyn's posture straightens, while her dupe rolls her eyes at her counterpart's sudden seriousness. Her grip tightens on her sword and she takes a deep breath. "So, a while back, we had a pair of agents here. One a veteren, the other an agent trainee that had been paired with them. Called in to investigate a crime scene, they, uh-"
There's a slight hitch in Robyn's voice already, though the way she exhales a help breath she's trying to push it away. "They found another agent had been murdered by an Evo. Wrong place, wrong time." Rolling her shoulders, she begins to move back towards her desk. The sword is placed on it, and she lowers herself back into her chair.
So far, the story turns out about how Kendall figured. Didn't quite start off with 'once upon a time', but fortunately cliches like that aren't used much. Protagonist, sidekick, bad things. He stays quiet though.
"Meanwhile, the trainee graduates to being a full fledged agent and becomes the agent's partner. They spent the next year barely finding any leads until, bam. One day, happenstance led to a breakthrough and a realization. The guy they were after, he used to be connected to the Staten Island Hospital, and if you don't know those stories don't go looking into them. It's horrific and no one wants to relive that trauma."
Hands rest against the sword as it sits in front of her, and she looks back up at Kendall. "Turned out, this guy they'd been looking for had been experimented on. He'd become… basically an evolved vampire. Worse, he could siphon people's abilities and use them when under the effects of the right cocktail of drugs. A makeshift mosaic."
At the explanation of how this Evolved worked, Kendall's eyebrows go up. That's… unique. He'll have to look up the Staten Hospital later, no matter what she says about not doing so.
The dupe looks rather bored, eyes angled upwards at the ceiling. Surprisingly, though, she doesn't speak up.
"They took a gamble on a hunch, and with another agent made their way to one of the old chemical plants. Turned out it was his lair - and that he was working with Triads, who came to investigate the agent's presence. The agent and her partner got shot, the agent in the leg and the partner in the shoulder. And it was at that time that the vampire decided to show up." Robyn's eyes affix on Kendall. "He killed the triads while the partner and the third agent escaped at the first's behest. And then, he turned his sights on the agent. He had her, dead to rights. Had it not been for the third agent coming back, it might have ended there. But that distraction gave the agent time to make a desperate attempt to use their ability, which had been… dormant for most of a decade. And it worked, amazingly, and it drove off the vampire."
"Something tells me not for good though." Kendall waited for her to pause in her story to speak up, and he glances at Robyn's cane thoughtfully. Not so long ago, then. The clone is also eyed. "I heard there's a few cases where in emergencies or dire straits, new aspects of powers show up. Is that why…?" he gestures to the clone, but that might be jumping the story a bit, so he falls silent.
Robyn catches Kendall's looks, first to her cane and then to her dupe, and she chuckles. "This?" Lifting up the cane from where it leans against her desk, she breaks her serious facade and smirks. Rising back up to her feet, she holds it up and looks it over. "I don't need this. It's a fashion accessory, and-"
With a click, she pulls the handle of the cane out, revealing that it too is a sword. "I didn't actually mean to bring this one with me today. I try not to bring my various knives and swords to work, and my boss hates it when I do. But Richard doesn't care, so sometimes I grab the wrong one on accident."
"And she," which is probably a good thing to say instead of calling the dupe she motions to as that, "just sort of happened one day last year. Probably not trauma related."
"Definitely trauma related," the dupe Robyn remarks, examining her finger nails. "Just maybe not yours."
"Anyway, you're right. It wasn't for good."
Kendall looks suitably impressed when it ends up being a sword cane, and Robyn just climbed up a few more notches on the ladder of People Kendall Thinks Are Cool. "Oh, so…. You just carry around a cane to look cool? Ones that aren't swords, I mean." Because sword canes are awesome.
At the explanation of the clone, Kendall looks over at her again, tilting his head. "Kinda rude. Well ok, more like a lot rude." But anyway, back to storytime, and Kendall shifts his attention back over to the best Robyn. "So what happened, then?"
"You're rude," is muttered by the dupe, the prime Robyn exhaling sharply as she buries her face in her hands.
"Oh my god how are you always the worst parts of me," she mutters to no one in particular, taking a deep breath as she looks back up at Kendall.
"I'm just you," the dupe replies with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
Robyn pays the dupe no mind, instead focusing on Kendall. "It's more than just to look cool, but…" A grin forms again on her face, though it's short lived. "I haven't forgotten everything from before the war."
Pursing her lips, she looks down at the floor for a moment. "Anyway. So both those agents went to the hospital, were treated and released. But… not even a week later, the vampire reemerged. And he was looking for the agent who drove him off."
A hand curls into a fist, pausing before she continues. "He started with the partner. He attacked him. He killed him. And then he snuck into the agent's house while they were sleeping. Still in recovery, the agent wasn't really in a position to do much… but then the vampire made a move for the agent's kid. And then they stopped fucking around."
Clearing her throat, she looks back up at Kendall. "They killed him, but not before he killed them."
"Wait wait wait." Kendall was listening through all of this, but there's a couple things that grabbed his attention. "Ok, wait. He killed y- 'them'? Is this like that one time it happened to me?" Robyn might remember when Kendall was dead for a month. Judging by the look he levels on her, Kendall might be thinking about going to poke her too to see if she's real. "Did you avoid it with a duplicate too? But nevermind that."
Now the look changes to one of incredulity. "You have a kid? You?" That's definitely not what Kendall was expecting, Robyn didn't ever seem the type to want spawn. And that seems to be the only thing that seems to have shocked Kendall in the whole story so far. "I didn't think you were, um…." he makes vague motions with his hands.
A small, sad smirk spreads across Robyn's lips, tapping her nose twice before pointing at Kendall. The dupe, on the other hand, scoffs. "Oh hey, look. He cracked the puzzle. Amazing." The comment causes Robyn's smile to falter, and she lets out a small sigh.
"I think he did. No one understands how I lived. I don't know how I lived. Certainly shouldn't have, I was broken after that night. Saito certainly didn't get to. That was my partner, Kenji Saito." Again, her breath hitches, Robyn looking over at a picture on her desk. Just as quickly, she looks away. "But here I am, somehow."
The question of her kid goes unanswered, at least for now.
Kendall rolls his eyes at the clone. "I could tell right away she was talking about herself, you know. It's called playing along." There's such a thing as atmosphere and literary devices like separating yourself from the subject matter.
"Well a lot of strange things have happened over the last fifteen years or so for a lot of us. I'm at the point where I can hear about weird things and just… accept it?" Kendall rubs his chin and shrugs, shaking his head as he looks over to where she's looking. He can't see the person in the picture frame, but he's not going to walk over to look.
"Sorry about your partner though. But that makes me feel even stronger about joining SESA, not less. It's stuff like that I want to try and prevent from happening again. I hate it when people I know get hurt and there might've been something I could have done to prevent it. SESA's a good way for me to be in a better position to do so." he nods sharply at Robyn, staring her dead in the eye.
"I wasn't trying to discourage you," Robyn replies, locking her gaze with Kendall. "I just want you to understand how big the stakes can be. That sometimes you won't have a choice in fighting." Slowly she begins making her way over to Kendall, reaching over and ruffling his hair.
"I believe if anyone is here for the right reasons, with the right goals, it's you. But even with everything that's happened, it's too easy to fall into naivety." Turning back around, she starts back around the desk, cane in hand - but maybe she is leaning on it a bit more than she lets on. "And yes, I have a kid. Adopted a few years back."
And that's that.
Oh. Ok, that makes it a little better, a lot more understandable. Having a kid and raising it is completely different from adopting one already, erm, prefabbed? Kendall is distracted from his own thoughts when Robyn comes over to ruffle his hair and he swats at her hand, wrinkling his nose at her. "Hey, watch it. Raquelle fussed at my hair for hours already, if you mess it up I'm siccing him on you." Hopefully he's exaggerating about the hours thing.
"And yeah I know it's dangerous. But I knew being a Ferryman was dangerous, and fighting in the war was dangerous. I knew following Melissa on her secret missions was dangerous. Anything is dangerous, actually, even walking down the street in the Safe Zone." There's a suggestion of phantom air quotes hovering in the air when he says that, though he doesn't make any motion himself. "The best we can do, is do what we can. So if you need anything, just let me know. Since you are allowed to officially boss me around."
Kendall grins at her now, with more than a hint of mischief. "I wouldn't trust the coffee though, I had an, uh…. Interesting interview session. Is it…. like that all the time, or just that one guy with a feud with another?"
"Feud?" Robyn furrows her brow for a moment, looking around curiously. "…Dirk and Lance? Stay out of that. It's already out of control as it is, and if you get involved you're just going to get on Nicole's bad side, and- trust me. You don't want that. Not ever, but particularly not now."
Not that she has any reason to elaborate why.
"Anyway, Raytech. It's an interesting place to be and they wouldn't let you take it on yourself anytime soon. But I want someone there I trust after I'm gone."
"Lance? No, it was some guy who apparently really likes donuts. Heh… sounds like things aren't dull, at least." Kendall won't comment further on the subject, though he files away Nicole's name on the list of people NOT to mess with. Along with Robyn's, of course.
"Well that's good. I'm sure I'd be up for it but I'd need to learn first. Maybe it would be a good idea to go with you then." Pause. "How many people would I need to meet?" There's a couple that might be the reason for Kendall's reluctance to go over himself.
"Oh, Cooper. Whatever, don't get caught up in their shenanigans either. Though, Cooper's a sweetheart." So's Dirk, for that matter, but she knows when it comes to feuds Dirk is the one you don't want to cross. "And… well, at least Richard and Agent Hall. The rest… you should meet. The whole point is to be the connective tissue between Raytech and SESA."
"All right." Kendall looks a little relieved at that, it's the people he knows at Raytech he seems reluctant to meet. "Agent Hall, huh. Now that sounds like someone from a spy flick if I ever heard one. Though I guess that makes you Agent Quinn?" Agent Trainee Cunningham doesn't have as much of an impact though.
"Well starting with the most important people and working down the list sounds like a good idea at any rate. So basically you're the communication bridge between the two? Like the Avatar and the Spirit Realm." Sage nod. Nerd.
"Don't call me that." The rebuke comes with a harsh tone in stereo from both Robyn and her dupe. It's clear it's a reflexive response, the Prime Robyn pursing her lips and raising a finger. "Sorry. I don't go by Quinn any more, and it's…" She shakes her head, moving a hand in a motion to cut herself off.
"Robyn Roux. Special Agent Robyn Roux." Both intentional points of clarification, spoken in an almost teacher like manner. "Agent Hall isn't from SESA, she liaisons with Raytech for another department. She's good, though. I'm sure she'll be happy to have a new face." Maybe? Robyn doesn't pretend to know Hall well at all.
"Also I have no idea what an Avatar is," she notes flatly. Some things never change.
"Oh." Kendall raises his hands up defensively when he's suddenly double teamed by both of them. The first time they agree on something from what he's seen. "Got it. Sorry." There's a slightly awkward pause afterwards as he collects his thoughts. Something must've happened, and he gets a strong feeling he shouldn't ask for elaboration.
"Well Special Agent Roux does sound really cool." Appease the Robyn! "And this Agent Hall sounds like a good person to meet too. Liaison from…?" he prompts, curious. 'Another department', eh? And not SESA? Maybe the Secret Service? CIA? FBI? NSA? Other alphabet soup departments?
"Aw man I'll have to try and see if I can find the episodes online for you to watch, it's the best non anime anime ever made." Pause. "Your kid might like it too. How old is.. um, your kid?"
"Oh. Anime." It's less disinterest and most uncertainty that fill Robyn's tone. "Listen, it's lucky you and Magnes got me reading comics," which Matthew in turn does too, "so one step at a time."
The question about Matthew earns a curious expression, Robyn's head tilting as she processes Kendall's awkwardness. "He'll be 14 in July," she remarks with unintentional hesitation. "Is it really that strange that I have a kid now?" A small smirk returns to her face. "You must have never met Jolene and Adel."
Kendall laughs at that. Some things never change, indeed. "All right, but that's a good way to ease into things." Smirk. "It's a kid's show about people who are part of society who are able to use powers to manipulate the four basic elements. And it's a completely natural thing, and is accepted by everyone." he raises his eyebrows at Robyn pointedly. "Uses a lot of references to various cultures, Asian and Inuit, and martial arts. The main character is someone called the Avatar who is able to use all four elements and is tasked with keeping the whole world in balance."
And this is probably the point where Robyn's eyes glaze over so Kendall will save the lengthy explanation for whenever there's a chance she might be interested. "Maybe when you get back from your secret mission, we can watch a couple episodes. And 14… he's older than I thought. Born before the war, huh. Poor kid." Kendall has a good idea why he needed someone taking him in.
It's hard to describe the look Robyn gives Kendall. Considering and judgemental in equal measure. "Yes." But she certainly has no intention of sharing who is father is, one of the men who unintentionally helped orchestrate the powder keg that caused the second Civil War. "I'm sure Matthew'll enjoy it. I'm afraid it's not really my thing."
She's just starting to play video games now that Matthew has them.
"We'll see how things are when I get back." If she gets back. That's still something she needs to ask Hall or… someone about. It's rather important, and will be a large part of her decision on if she goes or not.
"Yeah, well, not for everyone. But I do guarantee it's good. If you do ever feel like it, just say the word." Kendall isn't sure about watching it with a 14 year old kid though, that might be, uh…. Embarrassing. "All right then. So before we go, I guess all that I need now is what exactly a liaison does…"
