tushanshu | 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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh... Damian gets who this is. So he'll poke, obviously.]

What would be an explanation of finding yourself in this place that you would believe?

[There need to be parental controls or. Hell. Who's he trying to kid? The boy startles a slight widening of his eyes out of Lex. He wasn't expecting something so forward from someone so young, despite the fact that the question was entirely tame.]

I'll let you know when I run across it.

[When he turns over enough stones, digs out the truth. The theories were... exhilarating. Some. Stupid, most.]

[aha ha ha ha. But, really, Damian's been here for almost a year, even discounting who he was before? It would have taught a kid a whole lot about what questions to ask.]

[Though that response gets Lex a highly arched eyebrow. Of pure, aristocratic disbelief.]

Will you.

[Because, really.]

[Feisty bastard. Alternate worlds or what have you, Lex finds himself wondering why this kid's parents hate him so. Children are sponges. They pick up everything from their constant company.]

Are you this distrusting with everyone you meet? [Of course he won't share any findings with this kid-- he doesn't even know him.]

[... they don't hate him... exactly. That would probably be so much easier.]

No, that was me giving you, realistically, the benefit of the doubt. There are words said by rote, and then there are outright lies.

[He's tight lipped for a second, very obviously so. It's bad enough that the boy talks as if he actually knows what he's talking about, but he's not at the least trying to curb it, so far as Lex has convinced himself. So it's time to set things straight and quit beating around the bush, because he won't play games with kids so young.]

So tell me, what's your beef with me?

[Damian cants his head to one side. The man really does seem not to know, in the other conversations this far, too. Though, to be fair, he's been less hostile with him than some others who he's had less technical reason to be hostile with (then he was just angry). So the question is almost confusing.]

[Almost.]

That would depend, Mr. Luthor. What do you know about alternate universes?

[Sure, he's learned even before he posted his message that it's simple to scroll through other's conversations. This network is public and while he hasn't fiddled with encryptions of his own yet, it doesn't take such a bright mind like his own to know they have a place among what he's silently dubbed as 'Foreign Affairs'.]

[For some reason, that's small comfort when he learns the boy knows his name. Half of it, at least.]

[And his gaze wanders off screen in a (no doubt familiar to any boy) show of 'this again?'.]

Enough to know I'd be disappointed if an animal figured out a way to control rifts before anyone I know even knew it existed. [Theories were different, but nothing surpassed practice. He also knew he couldn't hide the fact that this was new to him-- he didn't see why he should, considering he'd be quick to learn anything thrown his way if only he put his mind to it. He's not in the dark anymore, so it's no longer a disadvantage, he reasons.]

So you know my name. It's only fair if I know yours.