Kara Danvers (lastof_krypton) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-03-01 21:25:00 |
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Kara had lost track of just how many dreams she’d had by now and after each one she wondered exactly when she was going to wake up changed as a result of them. She knew that things bled over from the dreams and that people had changed because of them, but so far she was still just regular old Kara. No superpowers or anything. And now Lena was dreaming about her so she was now wondering when exactly Lena came into the picture. There were so many questions about her dreams, but very few answers.
And it seemed that things just kept getting crazier. Not only did Winn like her, while she liked James, who was still with Lucy, but now there were white Martians and on top of all of that another Supergirl who threw a car off the bridge. That was probably the most bizarre part of her dreams so far.
Trying to take her mind off of everything from the dreams, Kara decided to go for a jog and before heading home, stopped into one of the Baxter’s locations.
Barry was awake again, they were friends in the Dreams again, and while some things were crazy - like being held up at the police station and her having to shoot someone so that they were rearrested. But she was trying not to dwell on that too much. A girl had to be her own hero now and again. Still, the initial shock and stress had crossed over and Iris had needed to shake it off.
At least her dad had gone into work early that day so that he didn’t get weird about it.
Now Iris didn’t always go to Baxter’s. It seemed more a thing that the people on the Network did. But it was on the way to an interview that she was going to later that day and so she figured she might as well be in the right general area that she needed to be in and this was a known quantity in terms of coffee. So for now, it was getting her coffee and finding a table to sit at.
Stepping inside, Kara went up to the counter, scanning the various pastries in the cases. There were always so many to choose from and everything always looked fantastic so it was always hard to decide what she wanted. Finally settling on two cookies and a sparkling latte, Kara paid and went to find a seat.
Mind on the dreams, Kara didn’t realize that one of the chairs was pushed away from a nearby table a little too much and her foot caught the leg of it. Luckily she didn’t fall, but she did trip, very ungracefully, and only just managed to save her latte and cookies as she bumped another table where another woman was currently sitting. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” Kara’s gaze swept over the table to make sure she hadn’t accidently spilled anything the other woman may have had on the table.
It was probably the fact that Iris had actually worked as a barista before she had gotten her job with the OCPN that her reflexes kicked in and she managed to grab her own coffee to make sure that it didn’t spill on the ground - or worse, her laptop.
“You’re fine, really.” Smiling, Iris made sure that everything seemed to be settled before looking to see who it was that had run into her table. And that was when she recognized the other young woman, “It’s Kara, right?”
Strange how a simple network could lead to such random run ins. Though she supposed between the Dreams and strange happenings that seemed tied to the network that running into someone you spoke to on it while at a coffee shop wasn’t the oddest of occurrences.
Once she had regained her balance and saw that she hadn’t spilled either drink, Kara exhaled, nodding as she heard the other woman say her name, “Yeah, I am. And you are….Iris, right?” It took Kara a moment to recognize her now that she wasn’t falling into her table, but when she did the name came right to her, “Are you sure that I didn’t damage anything here?” Just cause she didn’t spill Iris’ coffee didn’t mean she didn’t damage something else.
Iris had joined the network because she was determined to figure out the secret behind all the strange happenings that had been going on in Orange County for as long as she had been there. She had expected strange because of what she had heard from others not realizing she could hear. Yet sometimes the strange happenings still managed to surprise her. Like running into someone from the network. However, she liked Kara from their conversations so didn’t mind it.
“That I am.” And then Kara was asking if she didn’t damage anything and Iris shook her head, “Nope, everything is in working order. No harm done. Did you want to sit or are you on your way out?” From her vantage point, it seemed most tables were full by now so she might as well offer up the free seat.
“Oh good. I can be so clumsy at times. Like, I don’t even mean to be, but it just happens.” Kara registered the question at the same time that she realized that she was babbling and nodded in response, “Oh, thanks. I was actually going for that booth over there that’s now occupied, so thanks.” She felt a little strange, sitting down with someone she only knew a little, but at the same time, Iris didn’t feel like a complete stranger.
Taking the offered seat, Kara set down her latte and cookies then adjusted her glasses which had slid down a little when she’d stumbled, but hadn’t had the free hand to fix them just yet, “Do you come to Baxter’s often? I love it here.” It was one of her favorite cafes in Orange County.
“I definitely can understand that.” As Kara got herself settled, Iris took a sip of her coffee and saved the interview prep document, closing her computer for the time being. After all, it wasn’t polite to keep working while she had someone sharing her table and having a discussion with them. Luckily it wasn’t anything too important as she’d done most of her prep before and was just refreshing herself. “I don’t actually. But I have noticed it seems to be the cafe of choice for the Network.”
“I think it’s probably because it’s run my dreamers.” It just made it that much easier when you knew that the majority of the people around were more or less in the same situation. “And they advertise on the Network a lot, so we come here more.” It was just a theory, but it was one that made sense to Kara. “Speaking of dreams, I hope yours have gotten better.” She recalled when they had talked about being on the sidelines, unable to help those they cared about.
“That makes sense.” Iris had been in Orange County for years before she had joined the Network, so for her it had always just been another cafe once it had opened. And if it was close to where she was meeting someone for an interview then sure, she’d go there. But there were plenty of options. But then the change of topic to the Dreams, and Iris smiled some and nodded, “Yeah, they have. How about yours?”
“Um...more or less.” Mostly less, but Kara didn’t want to bother Iris with all the craziness of her dreams at the moment. She took another sip of her drink, “I’m curious though, what kind of stuff do you dream about?” She hoped that Iris wouldn’t mind her asking, but she was curious what others dreamt about since it seemed like there were so many different things that people dreamt about.
She was an investigative reporter, Iris could read between the lines and so she just quirked a brow at the evasive answer, as well as the pivot. But then again, they didn’t know each other that well right now, so she let it go. For now. “Well, a lot of it is fairly similar to here. At least for me. Though we also have people known as metahumans who were exposed to dark matter from a particle accelerator explosion and gained abilities. There’s this one, the Flash, who is protecting the city, giving hope and something to believe in. So I’ve been blogging about sightings of him to let people know that there’s someone they can count on.”
Taking a sip of her own drink, Iris tilted her head to the side.
“How about you? Anything supernatural or a bit more mundane?”
Kara’s brows rose almost without her realizing it, “Metahumans? Really? We’ve got some of those in my dreams too.” While Lena dreamt of the same world she did, it was actually nice to hear about someone who had similar dreams, “I’m actually from another planet in mine.” Kara knew that any non-dreamers who may overhear would probably think she was crazy, but she was sure that this wasn’t the craziest conversation anyone had had in this bakery.
There did seem to be something about this place where there could be groups of people who dreamt of the same place or thing. Another mystery. But for now Iris just filed that question away because it wasn’t always and the conversation was interesting. Instead she just nodded some.
“Yeah. I don’t know too much about it at the moment, just what I’ve been told. But really, another planet? That must be really interesting.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I mean and also a little sad cause I’m one of the last survivors from my planet.” She could go into the whole story about Krypton dying and Clark, but then she’d have to go into her aunt and the others who had survived and she didn’t want to bore Iris, “But I get some pretty cool powers and get to be a superhero, so I guess the pros outweigh the cons of it all.”
“Sounds like it could be lonely.” All things considered, if she had time, Iris wouldn’t mind the story. It was part of what she did after all. Gather information. Not like she was going to report on it but Iris was curious by nature and liked to know things. “But hey, powers and being a superhero definitely sounds like it could be interesting. And you get to help people.” True, you didn’t need powers to be a hero. It was why Iris was so focused on reporting the truth and exposing corrupt organizations and highlighting those who did good. But powers could certainly be useful in some situations.
Kara shrugged a little, “Yeah, it can, but I have a cousin who is in a nearby city, so it’s not too bad.” She didn’t see Clark as much as she might have liked to, but he was there if she needed him. “Helping people is the best part. It might not always pan out exactly how I mean it to, but I do my best.” It was nice talking about her dreams with someone who had a little bit of an understanding of them.
Iris nodded some, “Well that’s good that you have your cousin close by to talk to about all of that.” After all, there was a difference between those who could empathize with you and offer support as opposed to someone who truly understood. The same could be about the Dreams. Dreamers understood the Dreams, sure. But those who shared Dreams? There was that deeper connection. “I think life rarely goes the way we plan. But if your heart is in the right place and you can help somehow? Then that’s definitely good.” After all, you don’t always need superspeed and suit to help people.