tushanshu | video; 001.

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video; 001.

[The video flickers on without any trouble. The console's familiar enough that Lex doesn't have to fumble with it to get it working the way he wants. Behind him is the large space of a luxurious room that obviously originates from the Metal Sector. He couldn't see the harm in letting the, uh, 'citizens' of this In-Between see where he stands on trivial matters like his choice of interior decoration and he'd even gone and tidied up some before the broadcast, or at least that's what it looks like with two small cuts above his right eyebrow nothing but thin red lines now as opposed to the angry marks of earlier.]

[And the young man himself is seated comfortably, leaning to one side, legs crossed somewhere off-screen, left arm propped up on the table where the communicating device rests. A finger twitches and, right, he doesn't have anything around to grab a hold of at the moment. And so he begins to speak.] 'Tu Vishan. An In-Between of life, death, and dreaming.'

[And he has a sort of hushed voice despite the obvious intention to project to, well, the audience. And there's some light in his eyes that signals amusement-- or something resembling it. Excitement is either good or bad, never both. There's no upturn of his lips, no creased brow. He shifts, sitting straighter, peering closer into the camera, damn well expecting someone out there to listen.]

I'm supposed to believe this?

[He expects someone to listen, not to answer, because he just goes on.] The Kedan were generous enough to offer the explanation that I might not be dead, and to be frank, I appreciate any attempt of reassurance on the matter. I'd put more faith in it if I hadn't also heard the turtle had been in danger of dying. Spending the rest of my years aboard an ailing reptile wasn't exactly the life I envisioned. [He can believe abduction and drugs, but no deep sleep of his will ever revolve around an animal so stupid and slow. His voice turns wry. He knows he's not dead. He knows he can't be fully alive. The... Kedan were nothing from his waking world. That could only mean one thing left to figure out.]

[He's still seemingly calm. He's still only just sitting, just talking like he can see the company across the screen already. Like it's only a conference call he's taking from his desk. But now he sighs and he wants to smirk, but he doesn't. And now he'll be waiting for an answer.]

So who's the big dreamer?

[Show yourself, mastermind. A clear challenge, but after a second he tacks on a detail with clear concern and some well meaning urgency.] I also heard something about a clinic in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?

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[So guess who went back through the entries made on the network without checking any of his messages or looking at any of the threads! If you said Kon, you get a highfive.

Kon doesn't really have much of an idea who this guy is. There's plenty of bald people in the world and jumping straight to names just doesn't work. He also doesn't know Lex like Kal or Lois do. He's only met him once and even then the guy was in disguise.

He's sat back, looking a little paler thanks to a few days being kept in complete darkness (except at night but it wasn't exactly sunlight). He has his uniform on so the symbol is in clear view.]

She's called the Emperor. She brought us here and didn't even think to ask. I mean vaycay is great but if I wanted to chill in a place of destruction and stuff, I coulda just stayed back in Metropolis.

[One, that kid is sick and Lex doesn't want to ask what of. He figures the boy knows himself well enough to have figured it out on his own, anyway. Two, Metropolis was plenty safe-- well. No. But Lex had taken to reading previous entries as well when he could, and he'd seen things he never thought he would and he'd heard of even worse. It was as if the meteor rocks had found their way into the turtle's shell, something he's now not going to give up on searching for explanations on.]

[Three, that haircut is obnoxious and he looks a little familiar, but most importantly--]

[He'd seen that symbol before, that 'S' shape, presented courteously on the chest of one Kara Zor-El.]

But whoever the Emperor is, she doesn't seem to like talking to us little people.

[It's probably for the best. He isn't long out of jail and would rather not have to talk about it. Or talk about why he was there, that was even harder. Especially explaining it to a new person that hadn't really experienced Tu Vishan and the weird happenings so much.

Metropolis was safer than this place, and to be quite honest, he'd kind of prefer it after being here for so long.

Also, excuse you Lex, his haircut is amazing and at least he has hair unlike someone here. Rude. Don't diss the do man.]

Oh she does. When she deems us worthy enough and only to tell us to keep our noses out of stuff. You know, the stuff that happens on the turtle that we've been dragged to.

[And doesn't he know all about kings mingling with the peasants.]

That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship to have.

[But jailers will be nothing more than just that. Then the idea strikes him that the turtle may be a state of being with the sole purpose of having them all atone for their sins- let time resume and life begin again when all's right- but it's pushed out of his thoughts quite quickly and thoroughly. Talk about over thinking.]

[Besides, his questions were old. He can't imagine why the kid would want to answer so late but now that Lex has him in his sights, he won't be letting him go. He pauses, looking at the symbol on the strange clothes again.]

Would you happen to know someone by the name of Kara? [Effective topic starter? He hopes so.]

Tell me about it.

[His extreme dislike of both the Emperor and Evandau would be enough take up a days worth of hours. So to save time and keep things less ranty, he just sticks to agreeing and letting him know that the Emperor is actually annoying and doesn't care.

The guys question causes him to lean back and smile just a little.]

Kara? Yeah she's my cousin. [In a way. In his universe. Even then that kind of a 'sort of' deal. Comics man.] Why, did you speak with her?

I'm Kon by the way.

[Cousins. Oh, well that would explain why Lex thought he'd seen this boy before, despite having clearly not. The smile makes something inside of him click, and to show for it he even tsks. Families are great, aren't they? But all of this is kept to himself, and he's still just patiently observing the boy.]

[Kon, was his name. Odd names. Odd symbols. The more he sees it, the more it reminds him of the engravings in the octagon.] Yeah, I spoke with her the other day.

You say you're from Metropolis, Kon? Is your cousin from out of town? She didn't exactly have a 'city' vibe to her.

[Family like this was still a new concept to him. Sure he had had Tana and Roxy, even slimey old Rex and Dub. But this kind was different, at least to him. He wouldn't say real because what he had with the gang in Hawaii had been real and the first family he ever had. This one though...it was special. He was accepted by them now and not just 'the clone', the annoying kid to be ignored. They are great.]

Yeah, you could say that. She's from Krypton, she's learning though. You know Metropolis? Sweet, a lot of people here sort of drag their knuckles and scratch their heads at the mention of it. Real drag cause the city's alright.

[His heart jumps.]

[Krypton again.]

[But why? Why this prank? Why this stubbornness to admit to her actual home? Lex nods his head. Metropolis is alright. It's a little more than 'alright'.]

Yeah, I've spent some years in Metropolis. [Read: his life. Most of it.] Always changing, it's quite a sight. Must be a real marvel from an outsider's perspective. [Imagine, for a moment, an alien living among the people of his beloved city. Maybe working with the people, playing with them, thinking it is one of them. What a ridiculous little thought, isn't it? And yet he wonders.]

I guess so? I mean, I'm basically from there. [Born, created...kind of the same thing. But let's just...not with that whole thing right now. It makes it easier if the whole 'clone' thing is left out and he doesn't want it to be his defining feature either. Even if he has come to terms with it and what it means yadda yadda.]

Never really stuck around for long until I went back pretty recently. [A few months recent.]

A bout of teenage rebellion is perfectly normal.

[He's so convinced this must be code for saying he'd run away from a strict father. The, uh, fashion can't be explained any other way. The atrocious haircut meant he couldn't have simply run off with a girlfriend. It's in this moment that Lex forgets or else chooses to ignore his suspicion of the planet Krypton. It'll ebb it's way back, certainly, but for a boy to want to get away? That's perfectly normal. He understands him. He sympathizes.]

I grew up there.

[He feels for him.]

I never thought I could miss it until I was forced out. Now I think of Smallville as my home and I can't imagine otherwise. [Of course he can-- but for the sake of story and his own wants, he'd rather deny it.]

Ha! [It's funny. Not so much that he left a strict father, but an organisation after he was broken out. The haircut, excuse you, he'll defend his hair with his life if he has to ~~maybe not but still.~~

The girlfriend part...Well that came later.

It's all a little hard when it comes to Kon and the fact that everything has happened in three years. The three years he's been alive. Or was it four now? He lost track. Never really kept it to begin with.]

I left pretty quick, but like I said, went back after Hawaii.

[Then he stops because ugh. This poor guy. Was he hit over the head and brainwashed?]

Snoresville? Ouch. Coming from a big city into a tiny town...no thanks. [It'll happen though.]

[Hawaii. The boy's parents might be split, then. It makes sense in Lex's mind. It only makes him feel worse for him.]

[Then there's a flashing moment of... tension. He knows what the boy's trying to say. It's unnatural. It's odd. It's plain weird. But exile wasn't exactly his choice, and he'd managed--]

[See, it's like--]

You'd be surprised how much fresh air and friendly faces can do for a man. [Or hostile faces, if you're a Luthor, but he's the exception to the rule.] The people there have heart, something that's sorely lacking from my previous neck of the woods.

[Well there's also the whole 'technically if you look at it in a certain way, his parents are always mad at each other. One wanted nothing to do with him for some amount of time, and the other was a little too invested in him.'

He listens to him and nods, kicking back and letting his arms come up to rest behind his head.]

I'll take your word for it. I was only there twice. Met a nice family but dude, farms as far as the eye could see and a tiny little town? So not for me, fresh air or not.

Give me sun, sea and girls any day over cows, hay and dust roads.

['Nice family' makes him think of the Kents. They're a pinnacle to him. But he's sure there are other nice families in the town, so he doesn't bother to bring their name up. And he'd hope Jonathan was recovering well, except time's stopped so it'd be worthless wishing.]

[The mention of girls, thought? Lex gets a particular 'been there, done that' look on his face. He shrugs his shoulders, cants his head to one side lazily.]

Girls, sun, and sweet surf will only be distracting. A man needs good work ethic. I have an empire to build. If that means setting roots in a town of cows, hay, and dust roads, so be it.

[Funnily enough, it was the Kents. Mrs Kent was an amazing cook and both of them were super nice, even if their first meeting was strange.

He sees the look and he grins just ever so slightly as he drags his legs off the desk and leans in forward.]

Yeah? I don't have an empire, so I guess I can afford the distraction. And I've got a good work ethic pal, I help people out and save them. How you gonna build an empire in a place like that?

[Oh, isn't that cute.]

[Lex leans forward much in the same manner Kon did, purposefully mimicking.]

Looks like that's my secret, Kon.

[He raises a brow and snorts before sitting back.]

I get it, pal.

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