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

[The person- rather, people- in charge of that project just might surprise you, Lex. Not that Jor-El would know, though he isn't going to publicly disclose that he learned it directly from the source, given the circumstances.

That question, however, is an unexpected one. Either it was brought up already, or he knew about Krypton enough before arriving here. It's enough to warrant caution from this point on, however.]

Yes, I am. I arrived from there.

[Answering that question honestly couldn't hurt. The information is already available, after all. There's no point in lying, especially when it would result in only useless antagonism.

So far, Jor-El's finding the other man interesting, even as the tightly reined-in frustration and forced composure is both somewhat familiar, and reminding him of a need of wariness on his own part.]

[That cements it. That 'S' symbol will spell out trouble one day; for now, it's just kindling curiosity. It's awakening questions that'd been put out of mind.]

[How narcissistic would it be to think Smallville had a connection to the planet Krypton? But that's definitely too large a leap to take.]

Ever been to Earth?

[It's just like asking if someone had visited a favorite shop or vacationed in a lovely country, the way Lex said it. Though, of course he remembers that with the supposed radical advances of Kryptonian life... who would want to visit that homely pale blue dot that is his? And he just can't shake that nerves that come with knowing that, hadn't it been for Kara's clothes earlier, he would have been all too eager to mistake this creature for human. Even now, he reasons, he's looking for an excuse to.]

[For some, perhaps. There are others though, ones that would- should- be more concerning, if he ever learned of them.

One large leap is sometimes all it takes, Lex.]

No, I have not. I did not know your planet's name until I arrived here.

[And in return, his answer is also polite, friendly. It was all true, as well. Even during the height of his career, Jor-El was honest. Bowing and scraping to prevent causing offense against the opinions others had of themselves or of their culture perhaps could have led to him being able to enact further measures to save Krypton or its people, or even prevent it from being needed in the first place, but as an idea, playing politics to maintain favor rather than preserving what was important was unsavory.

Even so, he's not oblivious to the direction this conversation is headed.

Whatever technology Krypton had that Earth does not is a simple matter of progress, and time. What Earth has that Krypton does not is the freedom of choice, something no amount of technology was able to give anyone on Krypton. It was, after all, why Kal-El was born the way he was.]

[He sighs. It's a deep, heavy sound, like he'd had his all resting on the correct answer to his question and it'd just let him down. It's some sort of patriotism gone awry. Hey have you heard about that national tragedy? Damn shame it happened.]

[And for a second he thinks, how much can a world without Time-- without him-- progress?]

I suppose our worlds hardly matter now, do they?

[It's enough to ease Jor-El's current wariness, though it will not erase future concerns. At least not without evidence that this is only from the stress of appearing here.]

Here, they do not. Worlds unlike our own are understandably interesting, however.

[Of course, he's saying this for his own benefit as much as for Lex.]

I am Jor-El.

[He hears all the wrong words. They hurt. He writhes. That means leaning farther back in his chair, allowing a moment of silence to settle between them before he speaks up again.]

[Jor-El, you'd done so well up until now.]

[But there's a spark of chipper amicable conversation to his words.]

I've met Kara Zor-El. [As in 'do you know her?' As in, obviously a planet must hold more than a dozen strange symbols like that 'S' shape- that code must bind some relationship between its keepers. No 'nice to meet you', no 'pleasure', because Lex thinks he's radiating that himself well enough.]

[For someone paying so much attention to the words, Lex is not doing as well as he could in giving attention to what isn't being said. What's unsaid remains important.

The shift away from the camera and further into the chair isn't entirely lost on him, nor the mention of Kara, nor the short moment of silence.]

Kara is part of my family.

[It explains how he knew about Krypton, and the reaction just now, possibly.]

Lucky that she's here, isn't it?

[Or go ahead and prove him wrong and say through some device other than words and say that families on Krypton are just as prone to be as fucked up as those on Earth. He'd love it, actually.]

[There's really no way to compare Krypton and Earth as far as families go. Grown and harvested children and a lack of physical affection between people is perfectly normal on Krypton, after all.

The family present here so far however is spread over three different universes, one of those with a large time gap within, and his 'niece' doesn't actually exist in his universe as his niece, all of which combined does qualify as a type of 'fucked up'. Just not the sort Lex wants.]

Under the circumstances, it's not fortunate for anyone to be here.

[He likes Kara, but it has not been lost on him the seriousness of what they're here for.]

[Finally. It’s like they’re finally back on track. Lex keeps his content at the response well hidden. He only tilts his head a little in the gesture of a question. Since the moment he got his hands on the device, he’d been digging through the archives, reading what he could, being told better. He hasn’t been here long at all-- what’s it been, some hours? He really is exhausted from the day, but like an animal he’s been trained to not give in. Like an animal, he has to be meticulous in being aware of his surroundings.]

[Like an animal, also, he sometimes does lash out with little provocation. His lips curl so faintly into a sneer.]

Who better to brave a new world with than family? They’ll lend a shoulder when strangers won’t. [Ironic as ever. Then he attempts to correct himself. He just talks on, no reply to that needed. He decides he doesn’t care to know.] I’ve heard about the rationing, of course. How we’re somehow tied to the health of the creature that carries us. But really, when you’re… brought to another dimension, another universe entirely from where your home lies, you couldn’t have expected this to be some vacation.

[The houses of Krypton were as much family units as they were ways of organizing themselves as according to what they did, their works and goals, their shared aims. The House of El had long been associated with the Science Guild, well before Jor-El was alive, and even before that, their crest with hope as a concept.

The other man's apparent reaction to the idea of family working together is concerning, mercenary seeming.]

Colleagues.

[For whatever reason he suspects the concept of friendship is one the other man knows little of.]

You've looked into the matter, then.

[There's a hint of approval in his voice as he says that.]

It would be difficult to build any expectations with regards to something wholly unexpected like this without any foreknowledge.

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