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?

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[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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